


Miraculous Masquerade

by Birthday



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Friendship/Love, Masquerade Ball, Multi, Other, Teen Angst, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-06-05 18:38:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6716515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birthday/pseuds/Birthday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien's father finally allows him to have a birthday party. But there's a catch. He must keep a fellow model happy for his father. It's nothing Adrien believes he can't handle, but the fact that it was decided without him that the party was to be a masquerade ball may present some challenges for him and, unknown to him, his classmate, Marinette.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Announcement

**Author's Note:**

> So I just joined AO3 today and this is my first work. The title's kind of cheesy but its the best I could do. I'd love some feedback on the story! Also, I plan to post pretty often until this is done. Thanks for reading!

Adrien flopped back into his bed after getting up simply to check the LadyBlog for what seemed like the hundredth time in however many minutes. This was how he’d spent all of his time since coming home from school and he was tired of it, but he didn't know what else to do with himself. He stared at the large expanse of white ceiling above him. After another moment, he sighed. 

Plagg groaned from across the room and flew out of a camembert box on the coffee table. “Will you stop it already? All this fidgeting and sighing is so annoying. I get it already, you’re angsty!”

Adrien turned his head just enough to fix Plagg with a very disapproving glare. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about.” 

Flying over, Plagg landed right in front of Adrien's face. “I know exactly what I’m talking about,” he replied happily. He also knew exactly how irksome he was being. “You’re going through Ladybug withdrawal.” He teased.

“Shut up,” Adrien moaned. He rolled over and pulled his pillow over his head.

This disturbance on the bed was too much for Plagg, who retreated to the nightstand, “Hey don’t take your frustrations out on me. It’s not my fault Hawk Moth hasn’t akumatized anyone in over two weeks.”

Adrien pulled his head out from under the pillow looking even more forlorn than before, “Sorry.”

“Besides,” Plagg continued, barely seeming to notice Adrien’s response. “Isn't this what we want anyway? We don’t really want innocent people turned evil and we don’t really want to have to save them and everyone around them.”

Adrien moaned and rolled his eyes, “You’re right. But then I start thinking, what if something has happened to Hawk Moth and there’s never another akuma. I’ll never see Ladybug again. That can’t happen, Plagg. I’m not any closer to figuring out who she is than when we first met!”

He shifted so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He propped his elbows on his knees and shoved his face into his hands, looking at the floor.

Plagg was relaxing on the nightstand, “Hey, I'm not saying there'll never be another akuma, I’m just saying to enjoy the peace while it lasts.”

No move from Adrien.

The small black kwami sighed and floated up next to his partners hanging head, “Even if Hawk Moth does miraculously stop without any intervention from us, which I seriously doubt, there’ll be other disasters to draw Ladybug out eventually.”

Adrien lifted his head and his blonde locks bounced with the movement. “That’s true.” He seemed to have perked up some.

“You’re a seriously weird guy,” Plagg shook his head as he floated back to his box of camembert.

“I’m in love.”

“More like insane,” and with that Plagg disappeared into his box.

A chime from Adriens desktop computer alerted him that Alya’s LadyBlog had been updated. He sprung from the bed and leapt across his bedroom. But it was just some article she’d found about how Ladybug’s got their name. He dropped himself into his desk chair with a sigh. It wasn’t what he wanted, but at least it was something to do.

The article talked about how in Middle Ages Europe there were insects destroying all of the crops, so Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help, and then Ladybugs showed up and ate the plant destroying pests, saving the crops. This caused them to be known as “The Beetles of Our Lady” which eventually evolved into the name “Ladybug” that we see today. Adrien couldn't help but chuckle to himself. There’d always been a Ladybug to save the day. Why was he not surprised? 

He glanced down at the clock in the corner of his monitor. 6:56. He’d better get downstairs before dinner was served. Just in case his dad decided to show up tonight. With another sigh he managed to pull himself out of his chair. He could hear Plagg mocking him from inside the camembert box, but ignored him and slid out the door instead. 

Down the hall, a staircase, another hall, and another staircase, and he'd arrived in the main foyer. As usual, he did his best to avoid looking at the large portrait of him and his dad hanging at the top of the staircase as he passed. The fact that it was just the two of them in it was bad enough, but the added affect of the full black outfits and black backdrop often proved too much for Adrien to handle. It made it too painfully obvious that his mom wasn’t there. And why.

Adrien took the double doors to his left into the large dining room. The table could easily fit sixteen people. It was set for only one.

Natalie, Adrien's father's assistant, was standing next to the set place. Her usual air of serious with a touch of nervous clung to her as she stood checking and rechecking something on her tablet. 

“Hey, Natalie,” Adrien greeted as he solemnly took his place for dinner. He gazed down the long table and thought about how achingly empty it was. With a shake of his head he directed his attention toward his food. He was just in a melancholy sort of mood that night, he supposed. He’d never thought about what too long without Ladybug and the adventures that accompanied her would do to him. Apparently, this was it.

That left him a question. Was he sad due to the recent lack of Ladybug related adventures or had he been this depressed all along and use the excitement of love and crime fighting to cover it up?

As usual, he decided that it didn't matter, because regardless it wasn't anything that Ladybug couldn't fix. He wished his phone would chime with an akuma alert. This latest stream of thought sent him into another reverie. How wonderful would it be to know Ladybugs secret identity? He smiled as he chewed. That would be the best. Then they could actually be together. And they could hang out after school. And he could invite her over so they could have dinner together. And…

“Adrien,” Natalie broke his train of thought. She spoke with the edge of someone who’d had to repeat themselves multiple times. 

“Ah, yes, sorry, Natalie,” he cringed

“I was just informing you of your father's plan for your birthday party.”

That caught his attention. He sat up straighter in his chair. “Birthday party? My birthday isn't for another couple of months.”

Natalie raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, “You don't want a party? After you begged for one last year?”

“I would love a party. I’m just confused I guess,” he smiled up at her.

She handed him her tablet. “There's a catch.”

Adrien felt his chest tighten. He looked down to see a picture of a young girl on the tablet screen. From his modeling experience he recognized it immediately as a professional headshot. She was about his age with dark blue eyes, long caramel colored hair, and a face that was easily model level beauty.Nothing compared to his Ladybug though.

“This is Valerie Marchand, the daughter of a very important designer that M. Agrest has been communicating a deal with over the past few weeks.” She gestured to the picture on the tablet. “Like you, she is a model for her father. She will be visiting Paris soon for a photoshoot and will be in attendance at your party. You must make sure she has a good time. The deal I mentioned will be highly beneficial to M. Agrest so you must do everything you can to help it go through. Her father is said to do anything for his little girl so if she’s happy with us he's happy with us and he makes the deal. Do you understand?”

Adrien sighed in relief and gave Natalie another smile, “No problem.” he didn't have much social experience but he was confident in his ability to handle this situation. 

She nodded. “You may invite your classmates, I’ll take care of the rest of the guest list. Please inform them that it will be a masquerade ball-”

“A masquerade ball?” he questioned.

“Yes,” she replied confidently, “What girl hasn't wanted to go to a masquerade ball?”

Adrien shrugged.

Natalie nodded as if to assure him it were true. Then finished with, “We’re leaving everything else to the party planner.” before heading for the door.

“Oh, yes,” she paused in the doorframe and looked back. “What’s your favorite flavor cake?”

“Lemon.” he responded.

Another nod and Natalie was gone. 

Adrien sat for a minute staring this empty plate at the empty table. He barely understood what had just happened. A party? A birthday party for him? Who cared if it was nearly two months early or if it was just to impress some prospective business partners daughter, this was going to be awesome.

****************

Back in his room, Adrien was gushing to Plagg, who was also very excited.

“A party?!” Plagg spun around in the air “Woohoo! You know what they have at parties? Cheese!”

Adrien laughed, reclining back on his sofa, “I'll Put in a word about camembert for you.”

Plagg dropped happily onto his chest. “Whoo! That’s all you need for a great party, so you have nothing to worry about with this model girl.”

“Valerie Marchand,” Adrien reminded him.

“Whatever,” Plagg whined. “Doesn't matter who you are, cheese is the best.”

Adrien chuckled, “yeah ,right.”

“”Have you told your friends yet?”

“No, I’ll do it tomorrow. I want to invite them in person.” Adrien sat up, catching Plagg in his hand as he began to slide off his chest. “That reminds me, I should set a reminder on my phone so I don't forget to tell them it's a masquerade ball.”

He set Plagg on the coffee table and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He’d just finished setting his reminder when Plagg zipped back over and peered at him around his phone. 

“I know you're really happy right now and all, but do you really think a masquerade ball is a good idea?” Plagg asked.

Adrien shrugged. “Natalie seemed to think it was, I’m just glad I get a birthday party.”

“No,” Shaking his head, Plagg hovered up to be on eye level with Adrien, “I mean don’t you think you might look awfully familiar in a mask?”

“Oh,” his eyes flew wide, then he slumped back into the couch again dejectedly. “Oh… i didn't think about that. Don’t want Chat Noir making a surprise appearance at my party, I geuss.”

He let his head fall back and sighed. Plagg flew up and landed on the back of the couch next to Adrien’s head.

“Don't start that again,” Plagg demanded.

“What do I do, Plagg?” Adrien moaned.”I don’t know if-”

Two chimes from his phone told Adrien he had an email. He glanced down, saw it was from Natalie and unlocked his phone to read it. She only ever sent important scheduling information to him. The topic was “Birthday Party” and the message told him to “please pick one of your fathers designs to wear to the party”. A file attached to the email held around eight different formalwear options for him, masks included. Gabriel Agreste was clearly not going to allow his son to look anything less than perfect in front of this girl.

Adrien felt a smile slowly creep across his face as he examined the contents of the computer file. It wasn't just because of the beauty of the designs, although Adrien did always love his father's work, but also because of design No. 6. It was a completely white from the pants to the jacket to the waistcoat to the shoes. The only exceptions was slight gold accents in the tie and gold trim around the jackets edges and cuffs that almost reminded Adrien of a prince from a fairytale. The accompanying mask was also gold, with a vine-like pattern wrapping around it to match the pattern on the jacket.

Adrien laughed allowed and spun his smartphone around to show Plagg. “Does this look like something Cat Noir would wear?” he asked jokingly.

Plagg smiled back, “Not in a million years.”

Unable to wipe a big goofy grin off his face, Adrien replied to Natalie's email with his choice. “Didn’t think so.” 

*********************

Marinette sat anxiously in her seat. The lack of akuma victims recently had given her a nice break from being Ladybug. There was a noticeable improvement in her schoolwork and attendance, but she knew it wouldn't last long. In fact it had been too long already. She knew an attack would be coming sooner rather than later and she was on the edge of her seat. 

But that wasn't what was causing her nervousness at the moment. Actually being on time meant she could watch some of her other classmates come in and she’d realized that Adrien wasn't there yet. He had precisely two minutes to get there or he would be late. And if he was late who knew if he was even coming at all. That would be an absolutely awful day if she didn't get to see Adrien at all.

Positive thoughts, Marinette, she reminded herself. She wondered if Adrien ever wondered where she was when she was late, as she so often was. That would be amazing. She tried her best to sit still as she became giddy with just the thought of it.

One minute left. Marinette pouted and turned to her best friend, Alya, who was sitting next to her “Do you happen to know if Adrien’s coming?”

Alya tossed her head, “No luck,girl.”

Marinette slumped in her chair for a moment before leaning over her desk to talk to Nino, the boy who sat in front of Alya and Adrien's bestfriend, “Hey, Nino.” She smiled at him.

“Sup Marinette,” he turned around in response.

“Do you happen to know if Adr- ah- aaaah!” she fell back into her seat in an awkward spasm.

“Wha- oh,” Nino looked around and spotted Adrien walking in the doorway.

Adrien made his way into the room and to his seat right in front of Marinette. She waved shyly at him as he turned to sit and he gave her a warm smile and a “good morning” back. Her face went up in flames. Lucky for her he was already facing the other way. Alya was snickering at her, but she didn’t care. It was still a good morning.

Adrien turned to Nino in his seat, “You’ll never guess what, man.”

“What’s goin on?” Nino sat up, grinning.

“I’m having a birthday party,” Adrien beamed.

Marinettes heart sped up. Thoughts of her and Adrien together at a party flooded her mind, but before she could go into full daydream mode a thought broke through her lovey haze: it was still two months from Adrian's birthday.

“Isn’t it still like a couple months till your birthday?” Nino voiced Marinette’s concerns.

Adrien scratched the back of his head and looked down, “Yeah, well my dad is only giving me the okay so that we can use it to entertain the daughter of some prospective business partner of his while she's in town.”

Nino clapped Adrien on the back. “Alright,” he broke enthusiastically, “Well a party is a party and we’re going to make it all about you! This is gonna be epic!”

“Yeah, it is,” Adrien laughed, reassured.

The two friends fist bumped. Marinette hadn't realized that her hand had gone to her mouth. She’d been biting her fingernails and staring intently at Adrien. A party. His party. She glanced over at Alya and the two girls made eye contact. Alya smiled and, before Marinette could do anything to stop her, leaned over their shared desk into the boys conversation. 

“A party?” she smiled back and forth between the two of them.

“Yup,” Adrien confirmed.

Nino took Alya’s hand, “Which you'll be my date to, of course.”

“Of course,” she agreed. “Only if I'm invited that is.” she added making pointed eye contact with Adrien.

He flashed another shiny white smile, “Of course you’re invited.”

Marinette had been slowly but surely inching herself forward throughout this in an attempt to nonchalantly join their conversation. It was then that Adrien noticed her.

“You're invited too, Marinette,” he said redirecting his smile at her, “That is if you want to come.”

She fell back into her chair feeling as if all of the wind had just been knocked out of her. Suddenly her mind was blank, as it always seemed to be when encountering Adrien, so she reacted the way she always did, by blathering on like a idiot. “I would love to be with you- at your party- and you know, of course, everybody else- On your birthday- well, I mean, it's not your real birthday but it is your party and it is celebrating you’re-”

“She’d love to come,” Alya cut in with a smile and a nod.

Adrien, who had been slowly getting more confused with each new thing out of Marinette’s mouth, took a moment to take in what Alya had said. Then he laughed. “Great!”

Marinette giggled along with him and sighed when he was done .She could feel the heat emanating off her face, which only made her blush more, but there wasn’t much to be done about it so she just kept smiling. It wasn't like she wouldn't be smiling anyway. How could she not smile while in the same room as Adrien?

Suddenly, Chloe slammed her hand down onto Adrien and Nino’s desk, redirecting all the attention to her, as usual. “What’s this I hear about a party, Adrikins?” she fluttered her fake eyelashes. “And why on earth would you invite those losers and not me?”

Adrien held in a sigh, “Of course youre invited, chloe.”

Chloe fixed Marinette and Alya with her nastiest smile showing off the way she’d played the situation and the fact that Adrien had said of course she was invited.

“In fact,” Adrien raised his voice for the rest of the class to hear. He knew the majority of them were already listening in because of Chloe’s big scene, “Everyone here is invited.”

There was some clapping and a few cheers. Chloe’s face immediately fell into a slightly deeper version of her customary scowl and she stalked back to her seat across the aisle. Marinette and Alya looked at each other and giggled. After sitting for a few seconds, happily soaking in this new experience, Adrien got up and turned to address his seated classmates.

“You’re all invited to my birthday party,” he repeated. “I'm supposed to tell you it will be a masquerade ball. And, um-”

Just then their homeroom teacher walked in, “Adrien, it's time for class to start. Please save any… announcements for later.”

“Sorry,” he offered a sheepish apology. But before he went to sit he turned around once more and quickly spat out, “If you want to come see me later for more details.” Then he flopped back into his seat.

“Thank you, Adrien,” their teacher nodded to him then set her bag on the front desk and began taking out her lesson plans. 

Nino gave his bud a pat on the back. Alya gave her girl a hand squeeze. And class went on as normal. Of course, normal included several daydreams featuring Adrien in Marinette’s mind and just as many about Ladybug in Adrien’s

*********************

Alya and Marinette were walking home from school. Marinette kept clutching her bag and giggling with a big goofy grin on her face. She couldn't have made any other expression if she tried. 

“Can you believe it?” she gushed to her BFF as they walked. “I’m invited to a masquerade birthday ball.. For Adrien!” she giggled and held her hands to her face.. 

Alya laughed, “You’re crazy, girl. But it does sound like a lot of fun.”

Marinette began spewing out her feelings getting faster with every word. “It’s perfect! And when we’re dancing he’ll realize that we’re meant to be. Won’t that be such a cute story for our kids? We’ll be able to tell them we fell in love at a ball. And they’ll think we’re just like a fairy tale which of course we will be because how can two people not be when we’re sooo perfect for eachother. Well I mean he’s way more perfect than me but-”

“Whoa, whoa, Marinette,” Alay interrupted, laughing again at her friends usual antics. “How are you going to ask him to dance when you can’t even speak properly in front of him? No, wait, how are you even going to dance with him if you can’t even keep your balance whenever he’s too close?” 

Marinette gave her BFF an angry pout and an elbow in the side. Darnit, she hadn’t thought of that. It only took another moment before she was giggling again. She did a twirl. Alya was grinning at her, she clearly hadn’t meant what she’d said meanly, but it was kind of true. Nevermind that though; Marinette had a solution.

“I won’t need to ask him because, with any luck” Marinette took Alya’s arm and gave her a mischievous grin, “he’s going to ask me.”

“Whoa,” Having complete faith in her friend, Alya grinned back “How are you going to swing that?”

Marinette stopped and put her nose up in mock snootiness. “Because I’ll be the prettiest girl there and he’ll feel compelled to ask me to dance. I’ll be the prettiest girl because I’ll have the very best dress. It’s a one of a kind, totally unique, and designed by this great new up and coming fashion designer, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

“Sounds great, girl” Alya high fived her friend. “Adrien totally loved your designs when he saw your sketchbook during the hat designing competition awhile ago! Plus, everything you make looks amazing!”

“Thank you!” Marinette giggled. 

A few steps further and they were at Marinette's home. Alya patted her on the head, “Have fun designing your dress.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to hang out for a while?” asked Marinette.

“I’d love to, but I have to babysit tonight,” Alya declined. ”See ya!”

Marinette smiled and waved as Alya began walking away. “See ya tomorrow!,” She called.

Alya waved back over her shoulder and continued walking. Marinette then swooped in the bakery door. She quickly hugged her mom then took all of the stairs up to her room two at a time. She flung open her door, then let it fall shut behind her. Running over to her desk, she set down her book bag next to it and her purse on top and unclasped her purse so Tikki, her little red kwami, could come out. Then she dropped into her desk chair and began spinning for joy. 

Tikki spun out of the bag. She’d been listening in the whole time and was already filled with joy for Marinette. “A masquerade ball sounds like so much fun!” 

“Oh, Tikki, this is going to be amazing,” Marinette squealed in response as she stopped her spinning and pulled up to her desk. Sliding her sketchbook out of her book bag, she flipped it open to the first blank page. “But first I have to get designing.”

The small kwami landed next to the sketchbook and joined her partner in staring at the expanse of white. “What do you think you’ll do?”

A small hmmm escaped Marinette as she tapped her pencil to her lips, not taking her eyes off of the empty space in front of her. There were so many possibilities to fill that blank page with. “Well, first off I’m think red for both the dress and the mask. Mom says I look good in red.”

Tikki turned to Marinette with a patient sigh. “You do. But you know who else looks really good in a red mask?”

Leaning forward and putting her elbows on her desktop, Marinette stared down at Tikki questioningly.

“Ladybug!” Tikki finished, allowing her concern to show through on her face.

Marinette slumped back into her chair and threw a hand over her cringing face in shame. “Why didn’t I realize that!” she whined. Another moment of contemplation and Marinette shot up from her chair and began pacing around her room. “This is awful!”

“It’s fine,” replied Tikki, still seated on the desk. “The important thing is that we caught it right away and you didn’t waste time on it.”

Marinette was freaking out, “But now I can’t go! I mean how could I? What if something figured out our secret? Everything's ruined!”

“Marinette,” Tikki called out almost scoldingly. She flew up to face her friend at eye level. “There's a simple solution here. Just design a dress and mask that look nothing like ladybug.”

“You really think that would work?” Marinette asked, chewing on her thumbnail in doubt.

Tikki flew up and put a reassuring paw on Marinette’s hand. “Of course!”

A new wave of determination overtook Marinette. She took her hand away from her mouth and gave Tikki a confident nod. She smiled at her Kwami, “Then let’s do this!”

Taking her seat back at her desk, she settled in for a long night of design work.


	2. Boredom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir makes an unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome, appearance. Marinette has designer's block, and Alya is bored without enough action for her Ladyblog.

A few days later...

Chat Noir sat on a high roof, looking over Paris and waiting for the Eiffel Tower to light up for the night. There wasn’t any danger, otherwise he wouldn’t be relaxing on some roof, but he’d been going stir crazy cooped up in his room all the time. He’d been out with Nino a few times, who’d only recently gotten off of Adrien’s dad’s bad influence list from last years birthday party debacle, and that had helped some. But, still, sometimes alone in his room, on the rare occasion that Plagg decided to be quiet, it almost felt like everything was how it used to be. He’d wake up the next day and not be enrolled in school and not be friends with Nino and never have late night jaunts with Ladybug and the only person he'd have to talk to was Natalie and he’d spend all day alone in his mansion and all these thoughts and his whole past seemed to swirl around him until it felt like the walls were closing in on him.

And he just had to get out.

Plagg must have sensed what was up, this wasn't the first time one of Adrien’s little panic attacks had happened, because he’d readily transformed Adrien without so much as a whine or an attempt to negotiate a deal for camembert. And now, barely ten minutes later, Adrien was able to enjoy the beautiful sunset on the Paris skyline without a single worry on his mind. His eyes drifted down the Eiffel Tower and over the water until they caught on a familiar figure seated on the steps at the base of the park building he was on top of.

He smiled. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was scribbling furiously in her sketchpad. He'd seen some of her work during a design competition run by his father and he’d been blown away by her talent. Now he ached to see what she was working on. He shoved himself up so he stood tall on the edge of the roof. After only a moment's hesitation, he used his staff to lower himself down to ground level.

Then he sauntered over, cleared his throat, and when she didn't’ look up, said, “I believe we’ve met before.”

Marinette jumped and her sketchpad flew into the air as her legs flailed out. Chat reached out and caught it with ease. She looked at him for a few seconds breathing deeply, then she was on her feet looking around in a panic. He opened the sketchbook nonchalantly and began leafing through it. Marinettes movements slowly became less violent as she realized that there was no imminent danger. She stopped turning around.

“You have some really nice work here,” Chat complimented, flipping the page.

Marinette snapped her book shut on his fingers and glared at him as he began shaking them in pain.

“Hey,” he whined. “I’ve saved your life on several occasions now. You should be thanking me not pounding my paws.”

“Thank you. Now, hands off my sketchbook.”

He gave her his best kitten eyes. She was unfazed.

“There’s no akuma victim, is there?” she asked point blank.

“No,” admitted Chat. “I just got bored.”

With a heavy sigh and an overly exaggerated eyeroll, Marinette resumed her sitting position on the steps. Much to her annoyance, Chat Noir joined her. She kept her sketchbook firmly closed in her lap.

“So what were you working on?” he leaned closer questioningly.

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know, “ she replied, giving him a taunting half-smile.

“Ah, but satisfaction brought it back,” he finished the saying and reached for her sketchpad.

“No!” she swatted his hand away. “It's supposed to be a surprise.”

“For me,” Chat waggled his eyebrows at her, “You shouldn't have.”

She huffed, “Not for you, for… well, everyone.”

Chat pouted, leaning toward her on one arm, “At least tell me what it is.”

“It’s…” she seemed to consider whether she should actually tell him for a second before caving in to her excitement. “It’s a ballgown for a party a friend of mine is throwing. It’s for his birthday. The party, not the dress, I mean. And I really hope he likes it… that time I meant the dress.”

Chat laughed aloud and Marionette's face turned pink. He caught himself.

“I’m sorry for laughing,” he apologized. “It’s just the way you said it. I’m sure he’ll love the dress”

“Yeah,” Marinette responded quietly. She fingered the edges of the sketchpad in her lap and smiled down at it. 

Chat leaned back and took in the view of the Eiffel tower. He felt really special. Nino was right, even if in is father and Natalie's eyes the party was about this Valerie girl, in his friend's eyes it was still all about him. How lucky was he to have gone from having no friends to having friends like that?

He smiled over at Marinette, “Why come all the way here to work on the dress though?”

She didn’t look like she was paying him the slightest bit of attention, the lights of the Eiffel tower had just come on and she was gazing up at those. She responded simply, “Because this is my secret garden of inspiration.”

Chat laughed again, this time without any reaction from Marinette. “You do realize,” he told her. “That your secret garden is very far from secret.”

She shook her head at him. “It’s secret because tons of people come through here every day but I’m the only one who comes most days and I’m the only one who sits right here. No one I know knows I’m here and no one that’s here ever knows who I am. I come and go and no one ever knows, so it’s secret.”

He gave her a smug grin, “But now I know.”

“Then, I guess, now you’re in on the secret.” She winked at him.

Chat sat staring at her. Something there was so familiar. He couldn’t place it though and it swirled around in his brain disorienting him. He shook his head like he was trying to dislodge something. He saw Marinette every day in class. They’d probably had some type of similar conversation, but for some reason he just couldn’t picture Marinette winking at him. Well, Marinette winking at Adrien. 

“I have to go,” Marinette broke through his reverie. She was sliding her sketchbook and pencils into her bag. “It’s almost dark. Even if I wanted to stay, I wouldn't be able to work anymore.”

“Need me to walk you home?” he offered, ready to follow.

She laughed and tossed her head. “I think I can manage on my own.”

He stretched himself out on the steps like a lazy kitty, “Suit yourself.”

She began walking away.

“Oh,” Chat stopped her. She turned back to look at him and he flashed her a mischievous grin, “And I do plan on seeing that design of yours.”

She chuckled. “You do that.” And then Marinette was gone. Disappeared into the early evening shadows.

Chat noir stood from the cold hard concrete steps and stretched. Time to go home. 

***

Marinette rounded the corner out of the park and, once out of Chat Noir’s sight, undid the clasp on her purse to speak to Tikki as she walked.

“Is it alright for him to be out like that?” she asked the small red kwami

Tikki poked her head out of the bag, “I guess I don’t see any real problem with it. I’m sure his kwami must have okayed it, so I guess he’s not getting into any real trouble.”

Marinettes brow furrowed. She didn't often think about how Chat Noir was a normal person with a kwami like her. In her mind, he was just Chat Noir.

“Maybe he’s waiting for Ladybug to show up so they can go on a date,” Tikki giggled.

Marinette joined her giggling, “He wishes.” As their giggles faded out, she sighed. “I think I get how he’s feeling though. With no akuma victim and without transforming for so long, I’m starting to feel kind of antsy.”

A quick check of her surroundings revealed there to be no one else around, so Tikki flew up to Marinette’s face and smiled. “We could transform and take the long way home,” she offered sweetly.

“Really?” Marinette perked up.

“Yeah. Let’s Go!”

Marinette giggled happily. Flipping her hair out of the way, she yelled, “Tikki, transform me!” 

If anyone had been paying attention they would have seen a binding pink flash light up the side of the street.But no one had been around to notice. And then Ladybug was jumping away over the rooftops of Paris.

*********************

The next day, Marinette lounged on the chaise in her room. Yet again,she had her sketchbook on her lap and her pencil poised in her hand. Waiting just above the paper. Ready. But there were no instructions flowing down to it and Marinette felt like throwing something. She flung her arms out with a groan, but before Tikki could swoop over to see what was the matter Marinette's mother’s voice floated up from downstairs.

“Marinette,” called Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. “Alya’s come to see you.”

“Come on up!” Marinette called back down. Normally, she would go down to greet her friends, but her current designer’s block had put her in a mood where she just couldn’t bring herself to move from her seat.

“Hey,” Alya popped up from the door in the floor.

Marinette’s response was monotone, “Hey. I wasn’t expecting you over today.”

Alya flopped onto the chaise next to her bestie. “Neither was I, but things have been quiet on the Ladybug front so that means there's nothing to do on my blog. I’m bored. I mean ladybug history and meaning and all that is cool, but nothing compares to our Ladybug out there kicking some grade A akumatized butt.”

“You said it,” Marinette agreed.

They stared at the ceiling together for a little while until Alya broke the silence with a huff. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do on my blog anymore if this keeps up.”

Marinette smiled to herself, “You could always start making quizzes. ‘Which Akumatized Villain Are You?’”

She received a quick elbow in the side but could feel her friend smiling next to her. They settled back in with twin sighs. Suddenly, Alya sat bolt upright.

“Hey,” she was almost shouting. “Show me what you’ve got so far!”

“Alya, I-” before Marinette could finish her sentence Alya had grabbed the sketchpad and flipped it open. She began leafing through it vigorously. Marinette relaxed back into the cushion, waiting.

After another moment of searching Alya snapped the book shut and held it up in the air. “There are no new designs in here.” She said jabbing at the book like she was accusing it of erasing all of Marinette’s work. She fixed her BFF with a quizzical look and asked, “Where is all the work you’ve done on the ball gown?”

“There,” Marinette flung her arm over the back of the chaise with a groan to indicate her meaning.

Alya leaned around the chaise to get a look and was faced with enough crumpled balls of sketchbook paper for her to make a snow angel in.”You have nothing?!”

Marinette groaned again and pulled a small pillow over her face.

“The party isn’t that far away!” persisted Alya.

Marinette lifted the pillow from her face to whine, “I know.” Then she squashed it back down.

Alya snatched the pillow away from her. “Well then you need to get working,” she told Marinette.

“I know that too!” Marinette continued to whine, “But every time I start, it just looks wrong. This needs to be perfect,” she pouted and glared at her sketchbook which was now sitting at the foot of the chaise.

“Girl,” Alya gave an exasperated head shake. “Whatever you make is going to be amazing, but if you try to make it perfect it's never going to happen at all.”

Marinette sighed in defeat “You’re right.”

“Of course, I am,” Alya beamed. She picked Marinette’s sketchbook back up and placed firmly in her friend's lap. “Now get to work! I’ll just be over here working on my Ladyblog quizzes, ya know, just in case.” She joked.

Marinette giggled and settled back into the cushions surrounding her for yet another round of brainstorming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this rate, I expect to have another chapter up tomorrow! Thanks for reading!


	3. Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is late as usual, but in her absence Alya was busy being the best friend ever. Adrien meets Valerie, and, well, he really didn't know what else he expected.

“Marinette!,” Tikki was hovering over Marinette’s sleeping body. “Marinette!”

Marinette shot up in her bed so quickly she almost fell out of it. Countless crumpled sketchbook papers shed off of her as she climbed out.

“You’re alarms been ringing for over five minutes,” Tikki informed her as she reached the floor.

“Thanks,Tikki,” said Marinette, with a yawn. 

“So,” Tikki zipped through the air around the still half asleep Marinette as she got out her clothes for the day. “What’d you come up with last night?”

Marinette very visibly slumped. “Absolutely nothing. I’ve stopped focusing on being perfect but now nothing looks right at all.”

“You'll get it,” encouraged Tikki. “You just have to keep trying”

Marinette nodded and got dressed. She was just about to head downstairs for breakfast when she heard the school bell ring across the street. She gasped. “Tikki! We’re late again!”

“Okay, maybe I accidentally slept through some of the alarm too and it was actually on for more than five minutes but I didn't realize it... I’m sorry.” she admitted as Marinette was dashing around the room picking up her backpack off the floor and her homework from her desk.

“It’s fine,” Marinette panted. “It’s not like it’s anything out of the ordinary. Now we just need to get over there!”

Tikki nodded and zoomed into the clutch purse Marinette was holding open for her. As soon as Tikki was secure, Marinette dashed down the stairs and out of her house. She crossed the street carefully, watching for cars, and regained speed once on school grounds.

Marinette tried to sneak into class unnoticed, but that was hard to do when the door was at the front of the classroom and the teacher was facing the class. No big deal though. The lesson hadn’t even really started yet so Mrs. Boustier just gave her a warning look and continued talking about lesson plans. 

As Marinette was sliding into her seat, Alya was practically bouncing out of hers. She smiled over at her friend.

Marinette smiled back and leaned over to whisper, “What’s up?”

“I am the best friend ever,” Alya informed her. Her explanation was cut off with a glare from their teacher.

The girls feigned innocence until their teacher directed her attention back to the lesson at hand.

Alya leaned over again once they were in the clear to whisper, “I’ll tell you after class.”

**********

The day passed slowly and by the time their lunch break finally rolled around Marinette had completely forgotten about that mornings interaction. She leaned over to grab her stuff. When she came back up she was nose to nose with a smiley Alya. She jumped back in her seat with a yelp, but Alya was too excited to notice the reaction. Marinette calmed herself with a deep breath.

“You have the best friend in the whole world,” Alya repeated her sentiment from that morning.

With a joking smile, Marinette playfully poked at her best friends shoulder, “I already knew that.”

“Of course you did,” Alya shrugged, paused for effect, then gave her friend a wicked grin. “But now I’m about to earn my title.”

Marinette leaned closer, intrigued. Alya did the same, obviously this was highly classified information. 

“Before you got here this morning,” Marinette’s BFF began, “Before class started, Nino and Adrien were talking about the party. Nino didn’t know what to where, yada yada, the important thing is Adrien had a picture on his phone of the outfit he’ll be wearing and he showed Nino! ...And guess who had the quick thinking and mad phone skills to take a pic of the pic while he was showing him?”

Eyes wide in anticipation, Marinette felt her breath catch in her throat, “You didn’t.”

The wicked smile returned as Alya held up her cellphone, “Oh, but I did.”

Quick as a thief, Marinette snatched the phone out of her friends hand. Being besties, she already knew the password and how to navigate it despite it being completely different from her own phone. Straight to the pictures and the first one that popped up was an unbelievably clear shot of a suit design framed by Adrien's phone. His fingers did cover some edges but it wasn't anything important. On the screen was a beautiful full white and gold suit. Marinette was having trouble breathing.

“He’s going to look… amazing,” she sighed. Amazing didn’t even cover it in her mind, but it was the best she could do in her current state. 

“Right,” agreed Alya, she was leaning over the screen to get another look as well. “But the real important thing is that now your designers block is over.”

The lack of oxygen must have been getting to Marinette because she couldn't figure out what her friend was getting at. Whatever it was made her nervous. “Wha-What?!”

Alya rolled her eyes, “Come on, don’t tell me you’ve had a stroke of genius since I left you last night and my super awesome spy skills have gone to waste?”

Marinette was still confused. “Well, no, but-”

“Then it’s simple,” Alya clearly wasn’t having it that day. “`You make a dress to match his suit.”

Marinette lost all feeling in her body. A dress to match his suit? It’d be like they were together! And besides, his suit was so amazing that any ball gown made to match it would be just perfect. Just like she wanted. She caught herself.

“No, I couldn’t… Could I?” she held Alya’s phone between two fingers as if she’d suddenly been caught with a horribly incriminating piece of evidence and cringed. “Don’t you think that would be a bit too, you know, stalkerish?”

“That’s the best part,” Alya put a comforting hand on Marinette’s shoulder and carefully took back her phone before the eternal clutz could drop it from holding it like that. “You never saw his suit.”

“But I-”

“You weren’t here, remember?” Alya cut in.

Marinette’s jaw dropped.

Alya began to stand and pack her stuff away. “You weren’t here this morning to see the design. The fact that your outfits match is an accident. You couldn’t have known what he was going to wear.”

“A accident,” Marinette sat dumbfounded as the information sunk in. Alya had thought of everything. She’d had a whole class to, Marinette supposed. She started to smile and jumped up from her chair to join her friend. “A total accident! A complete coincidence!”

Alya grinned, “Right.”

Marinette lunged for her friend and practically attacked her with a hug. Alya laughed and hugged back.

“You’re the best!” Marinette shouted, still tangled around the other girl.

Alya’s smile was almost as big as Marinette's, “I know, I know.” 

The girls began to head out for lunch.

Marinette could hardly contain herself. She squeaked. “This is absolutely… perfect!”

**********

That afternoon, after school was over, and after fencing, Chinese, and a photoshoot, Adrien returned home. It had been a long day and he got right into the shower. Once he was dressed again, he went to check the Ladyblog. His butt had barely touched the seat of his desk chair when there was a knock on his door.

He sighed. It was never ending. He got up and opened his door to reveal a very impatient and nervous Nathalie. She always seemed a bit nervous to him, but this was borderline panic. She could not stay still for a moment; checking and rechecking her tablet and over her shoulder. Her brow was stormy.

“What’s up?” Adrien asked, dreading the answer.

“Valerie Marchand is here,” there was even a tinge of panic in Nathalie's normally even voice.

Her panic was contagious and Adrien felt himself becoming jittery, “I thought she was just coming to the party.”

“No,” Nathalie rechecked something on her tablet, “She’s coming to dinner tonight. You should have been informed at some point.” She huffed, “But she’s here now. She’s early.”

“Okay. So…?” Adrien still wasn't understanding what the big problem was but his heart was speeding up just watching Nathalie.

“So, I am... not good with dealing with other kids your age,” she tried to say it nonchalantly but an embarrassed cough gave her away at the end. 

Adrien had to try so hard not to laugh. That would be rude. He smiled at his father’s assistant instead. “I’ll go meet her.”

“Thank you, I’ve left her in the main entrance” Nathalie quipped and then she was off in the opposite direction from the main entrance. She was probably distancing herself as much as possible.

Adrien shared another lopsided smile with himself then set off through the house to find this Valerie. When he reached the foyer, there she was standing directly in the middle. She was certainly beautiful. Her hair was a bit shorter than it was in the headshot he’d been shown, but otherwise she was just the same. She was in a short blue and green dress and brown ankle boots. Her whole appearance reminded Adrien of spring.

As always, when it came to beautiful girls, Adrien immediately made a mental comparison to Ladybug. And as usual, this girl didn’t even come close to his Lady. 

Valerie was examining the dark family portrait of Adrien and his father that hung at the top of the staircase, so she noticed him the moment he rounded the corner at the top of the steps. “Hello,” she greeted.

Adrien made his way down the stairs, “Hello, I’m Adrien Agreste.”

She nodded solemnly and held out her hand, “Valerie Marchand.”

A bit taken aback by her severity, Adrien had to take a second to gather himself before shaking her hand. It was more of a quick, gentle grasp than a firm handshake. He was dealing with a lady after all. That was how his father had raised him. “Nice to meet you.” He added.

Another slight nod, “Likewise.”

Why had Nathalie had a problem with this girl? They were so alike, Adrien thought. She acted very similarly to Nathalie and his father. She had the very serious and severe air and the straight facial expression. Her chin was high, shoulders back, back straight; so much so that it actually looked like it would hurt. Yet it didn’t look unnatural on her at all. Quite the contrary it seemed to add to her beauty and mystique. 

Adrien’s heart dropped as he thought about the realizations and connections he’d just made in his mind. This was a girl of high society. A girl who was probably much closer to Chloe than to Marinette or Alya. A girl who he’d immediately, in his mind, associated with his father. Would she be as hard to please? What exactly would it take to impress her?

“You have a lovely home,” she said, looking as if she could not possibly care less about where he lived. 

Small talk. Not good. Adrien scratched the back of his head, “Thank you. My… Mom and dad picked it out together.”

“Lovely,” Valerie cooed passively.

“Why are you here so early, if you don’t mind my asking?” Good job, Adrien, he thought to himself. There you go, perpetuating the small talk. 

She looked at him as if it were obvious, “I had a photoshoot beforehand which ended early. Your home was the next place on my schedule.”

Adrien smiled. Constant scheduling was something he could relate to. “Did it not occur to you to use you’re new free time for something you’d enjoy more?” he joked, in the most polite way possible of course. 

Without answer and with the same unchanging straight face, Valerie continued to stare at him. Adrien was dieing inside and trying not to let it show on his face. Had he accidentally offended her? Had he somehow blown her mind with an utterly knew realization that the schedules word was not necessarily law? Did she really not have any idea what to do with herself otherwise? He didn’t know. And he especially didn’t know what to say. 

They stood awkwardly until she spoke up. “I sense that I’m unwelcome. I’ll wait elsewhere for dinner.” 

She began to turn for the door. Adrien's mission flashed in his head. Make Valerie Marchand happy. 

“Wait, no,” he made the bold step of putting a hand on her shoulder. She glared at it until he removed it, then directed her attention back to him as a person, waiting for him to speak. He gaped for a moment before an idea came to him. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” a completely natural lopsided smile swept his face.

Valerie raised one perfectly arched eyebrow, “A walk?”

“Or a drive,” Adrien shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. There’s somewhere I want to take you.”

Her uncertainty showed on her otherwise smooth forehead. 

“It will kill time until dinner,” Adrien offered.

After another moment's hesitation, Valerie nodded and allowed Adrien to lead her to the door. As he called for the Gorilla to pull the car around he could feel confidence bubbling in his chest. Make Valerie happy? Easy. He had never once seen anyone come out of Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng’s bakery as anything other than happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like my chapters are kind of short, but I'd rather be putting them out quicker then taking the time to make them longer and therefore making them few and far between. Any thoughts? Thanks for reading!


	4. Hello

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien enlists Marinette in his mission to please Valerie. Things get a little confusing and a lotta awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my favorite chapter yet. Idk why, maybe awkward is just something I can really relate to. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!

Valerie grabbed her purse out of the car she had left outside, and told her driver what was happening as they waited for the Gorilla. It wasn’t long before he had pulled Adrien's car around and the two new acquaintances were off in style. The quiet in the back of the car soon became a bit unbearable for Adrien. Sure, it was normally quiet in car, but he was also normally the only person. He took out his phone as a distraction and shot Marinette a quick text. 

***

Marinette was hard at work at her desk. Designers block a thing of the distant past, she scribbled furiously as inspiration burst out of every pore of her body. It was almost done and it was some of her best work yet, even if it was inspired by Gabriel Agrest's work. But most of her work was anyway. He was one of her favorite designers. 

She was so happy, her face continually alternated between huge smiles and serious tongue-out concentration as her pencil moved rapidly across the page. She was putting on some finishing touches when her phone buzzed on the other end of the desk. Marinette was too focused to care, but Tikki, who’d been lounging nearer to the device, shot up in the air.

“It’s Adrien,” the small kwami shrieked.

Marinette’s pencil flew across the room as she spasmed. When she regained control of her limbs she steadied herself on the desktop, panting. “What does he want?!”

“I don’t know!” Tikki flew over with the phone firmly grasped between her paws. “Open it!”

Marinette did.

>ADRIEN: Hey! Do you remember when your great uncle came from China and you needed my help communicating with him?

“What does it mean?!” Marinette shrieked, shoving the phone screen at Tikki.

Tikki read it over. “It’s a pretty basic question , Marinette.”

“Oh,” she looked at it again. “Right.”

She sat for a minute trying to think of a reply, then kicked herself. “Keep it simple, Marinette,” she told herself.

>MARINETTE: Yeah why?

Hitting the send button, she threw her phone onto her desk, then spent the next minute staring at it like it was a bomb about to go off. It lit up with a bzzzzzzz. She jumped in her seat and grabbed for it.

>ADRIEN: Well, now I have a visitor of my own and I could really use your help if you don’t mind?

She bit her lip.

>MARINETTE: I’d love to! But I don’t really speak any other languages…

Another minute of agonized waiting.

>ADRIEN: That’s fine, she speaks French lol. She’s just proved a little hard to deal with but I need to make her happy and you’re good with everyone.

Marinette's heart fluttered. She leaned her head back and dreamily informed Tikki, “Adrien thinks I’m good with everyone.”

Tikki giggled, “That’s cause you are!”

Marinette’s head snapped back up and she giggled too, “Thanks!”

>MARINETTE: Sure! I’d love to help!

>ADRIEN: Thanks so much! We’ll be there in a few.

She spun in her chair. Tikki swirled with her. 

“Adrien's coming over and bringing a visitor.” Marinette told Tikki.

Tikki flew right into Marinette’s face, “Umm, Marinette?”

“Hmmm?”

“You’re wall,” pointed Tikki. 

With a yelp, Marinette sprung to her feet. She did a quick scan of all the Adrien posters and magazine clippings that lined her walls. “Alright,” she said with determination. “We have a couple minutes tops. Let’s go, go ,go!”

They began taking down clippings and hiding pictures as fast as they could.

***

The uneasy pair arrived outside the bakery a few minutes later. Adrien stepped out of the car and held the door for Valerie,who stepped out daintily with her bag over her shoulder. He did the same thing at the front door to the bakery itself. 

They stepped into the cream and gold interior. The whole place was warm and smelt like cinnamon. Adrien inhaled with a smile. He cast a quick glance over to Valerie to see what she thought. She remained unchanged. His shoulders slumped.

There was some clanging and Tom Dupain appeared out of the back.The large man was nearly coated in flour, as expected.

“Hello, M. Dupain,” Adrien waved in greeting.

Tom wiped his hands of on his apron. It didn’t do anything. “Adrien! Welcome back!”

Adrien smiled. He was surprised yet pleased Tom remembered him. He’d only been over to Marinette’s a few times after all.

“Actually, perfect timing,” Tom disappeared again and reappeared holding a tray of steaming chocolate chip cookies. “These just got out of the oven a couple minutes ago. Does Marinette know you’re coming?”

Adrien nodded, “Yes, sir.”

Tom grinned, “Then she’s probably waiting for you. Go ahead and grab a cookie and head on up.”

He waved them on and went about doing something underneath the counter. Adrien passed, grabbing a cookie as directed. He munched happily as they ascended the staircase. A glance back over his shoulder told him that, although Valerie was following quietly, she had not grabbed a cookie. In fact, her face had actually taken on more of a sour tone. What was her problem? 

Adrien wanted to cram a cookie in her mouth. They were amazing. 

As soon as they reached the top of the steps, Marinette came flying out of a door on the right. She was going so fast she knocked into Adrien. Luckily, he was steady enough to catch her and she landed safely in his arms with her face in his chest. The world seemed to stop for a moment. And then Marinette was screaming and flailing. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she screamed trying to get her feet back underneath of her. 

Adrien laughed. Typical Marinette. He set her back on her feet gently.

“It’s fine,” He told her, “Really.” 

She sighed, but smiled up at him. Her face was as red as Ladybug’s outfit.

“I checked out the window and saw your car outside so I was going to come down and greet you,” she told him. “Guess I was a little late. Where’s your visitor?”

Valerie stepped out from behind Adrien. "Hello.”

Marinette’s mind slipped. There stood an exceedingly pretty girl standing much closer to Adrien than Marinette currently was. And she did not like that one bit.

She fumbled for words. “Ah… Hello… You’re…?”

“Valerie Marchand,” the unexpected girl filled in for Marinette. “I was in town for a photoshoot and since Adrien’s father is currently attempting to negotiate a business deal with my father, it was decided that I would go to to his house for dinner.” It was clear that that had not been a decision Valerie had made herself. 

So Nathalie and Father weren’t just being paranoid, Adrien thought to himself. This girl really was scoping them out.

In the meantime, an awkward silence had elapsed. Marinette seemed to be trying to make sense of the situation as Valerie stared on. Adrien cringed.

“And now we’re here,” he added to Valerie’s explanation with an awkward chuckle. 

He’d been trying to break the tension. The girls did not find him amusing. He put an arm up and scratched the back of his head.

“So you’re… a model?” Marinette finally said. She wasn’t sure what emotion she was feeling exactly, but whatever it was was making her whole body shake. She did her best to hide it and the other two didn't seem to notice.

“Yes.” replied Valerie, looking for all the world like she was doing her very best to hold in a sigh.

“Of course you are,” Marinette grumbled under her breathe. She frowned at the floor. It was all a bit too obvious.

With a tilt of her head and a pout to her lips Valerie asked, “Excuse me?”

Marinette jumped, “I… I said, of course you are! You’re so pretty!” She giggled uneasily and put on a wide grin.

A hint of a smile played across Valerie’s face, “Thank you.”

Finally, thought Adrien.

Marinette shuffled backwards and held open the door she’d just come out of to usher her new guests inside. Then she led them up to her room.

“You have a lovely home,” Valerie told Marinette.

“Thank you,” came Marinette’s quick reply.

Adrien thought that compliment sounded awfully familiar. Like, less than half an hour ago in his own house familiar. But he decided to give Valerie the benefit of the doubt. After all, Marinette did have a lovely home. He thought so, at least.

He didn’t know why he was constantly so suspicious of this girl. He really had only known her for less than half an hour. Maybe it was the way she acted or the way unimpressed seemed to be her natural state. He didn’t know.

Marinette had sat in her desk chair, giving Valerie the chaise to herself. However, Valerie was sitting up straight. She’d placed her purse on the floor at her feet. She didn’t seem like she planned on lounging in any way, ever, which left a lot of space on the chaise, so Adrien went over and sat next to her.

“So, how long are you staying?” Marinette asked once everyone had taken a seat.

Valerie sat up a bit straighter, if that was even possible, as she was being addressed, “I’m staying over at Mayor Bourgeois’ hotel for the next couple of days and leaving the day after Adrien’s party.”

Marinette gasped, but quickly reapplied the smile on her face, “Oh, you’re going to his birthday party, too?”

Valerie nodded curtly.

Marinette could feel one side of her face start to twitch. She put that sides elbow on the armrest and covered that side of her face by resting it in her hand. “That’s great. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Another nod from Valerie, then she seemed to consider it a little before saying, “A masquerade ball sounds interesting.”

Adrien leaned back with a lopsided smile. Good one, Nathalie. 

The movement must have caught Valerie's attention, because she turned to him, “Were you the one that decided that?”

Adrien sat up straighter again and his smile instantly became a bit less natural, “Yeah, I, uh, always wanted to go to one.” he offered with a shrug. 

Wrong move. Valerie pursed her lips and looked back to Marinette who was desperately hoping that neither of them could tell just how hard she was squeezing her hands together. She could tell that Valerie made Adrien nervous, a fact Valerie seemed serenely oblivious to. The problem was that Marinette, not knowing the whole situation, was convinced Valerie was making Adrien the same kind of nervous that Adrien made her. 

She could feel Tikki, safely hidden in her jacket, hugging her torso in a show of support. She realized she was beginning to shake again so she let loose her grip on her hands. They were sweaty now. She tried to discreetly wipe them on her pants. Her smile felt like it was permanently plastered on.

Meanwhile, Valerie had been thinking to herself again. At last, she told Marinette, “I haven’t figured out what I’ll be wearing yet. I’ll need to do that soon”

Suddenly, Marinette sat tall and proud, “I’m making my own dress for the party.”

Both of Valerie’s eyebrows went up, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Marinette gave a strong nod. She took her sketchbook off her desk to hold up. “I’m a designer… er, well, I want to be a designer. When I’m an adult.”

The corner of Valerie’s mouth quirked up. This was apparently the first thing to interest her all day. She turned to Adrien once again, who was greatly encouraged by this show of expression.

“Is this why you wanted to bring me here?” She asked.

He chuckled, “Uh, sure.”

She stared at him for another moment then back to Marinette. Marinette was accidentally letting her worry and incomprehension show through on her face. Her eyes were wide and her rosy pink lips slightly parted.

“If you design now then you’re already a designer. Isn't that how it works?” Valerie asked.

Marinette smiled for real now. “Hmmm, then I guess I mean I want to be a famous fashion designer.”

“Ah” Valerie tilted her head back in understanding. Then she held out her hand. “May I see?”

Doubtfully, Marinette glanced down at her precious sketchbook then to this new girl's outstretched hand. Her even more precious Adrien had asked her to help him make this girl happy. She pursed her lips.

“Okay, but just don’t look at the page with the last design on it,” Marinette informed her and slowly held out the book. “It’s my dress for the party.”

“Ooh, I want to see,” Adrien said, leaning forward as if to take the book himself. He tried not to let on that he already knew full well the reaction he would get. Marinette, of course, didn’t know that he’d already talked to her about this. 

“No!” Marinette withdrew her outstretched arm so fast that her sketchbook slammed into her chest with enough force to set her turning in her chair. 

She unintentionally aided the momentum by bringing her knees up to further guard her sketchbook as she clutched it to her chest. One full rotation and she faced her guests again.

“It’s a surprise! Only to be seen once I get to the party. You absolutely cannot look!” she informed them very loudly.

Valerie was staring at Adrien again. She seemed to have a hard glint in her eye, which set Adrien’s stomach turning. He’d done something wrong again. He needed a break.

Adrien stood, “May I use your bathroom?”

Marinette nodded, “Do you know where it is?”

Adrien grinned and nodded back, “I remember from last time I came over.”

And with that he disappeared through the door in the floor, leaving the girls alone to stare at each other in awkward silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading!


	5. Magazine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alone with Valerie, Marinette makes some rash decisions and says things she already regrets. But Valerie may not be completely what she seems either. When Adrien returns, it's time for the two of them to leave for dinner.

The girls stared intently at each other across the small space. Marinette, being the less confident of the two, was the first to look away. She cast her eyes down to the floor. Valerie didn’t notice.

Marinette played with the clasp on her sketchbooks cover. “So…”

She glanced back up to see Valerie once again reaching out her hand. She had long slim fingers and perfectly polished fingernails. Nothing flashy like Chloe’s , just… pretty. Even her hands were pretty. Darnit! Marinette wanted to die. She wanted Valerie to die. She wanted Adr- No, no. She didn’t want to think of a world without Adrien in it. 

Valerie cleared her throat. “Your sketchbook?”

Pink flushed Marinette’s cheeks as she realized she’d just stared at Valerie’s hands for probably way too long. She unfolded herself in her chair, releasing the sketchbook from it’s cage between her chest and her legs. Hesitantly, she handed it over to Valerie Marchand. 

Valerie took it and placed it gingerly in her lap. She handled it with the care you give something when you know it’s someone else's treasure. Opening it, turning each page, she moved incredibly slowly. Almost as if she was in slow motion.

It’s like she's in one of Pharaoh's time bubbles, Marinette thought to herself with a smile. She quickly tried to wipe the smile off her face in case Valerie were to look up, because then she might ask her what she was thinking about to make her smile. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened while she was thinking of something Ladybug related and she had found she was pretty awful at covering it up. Sure, with Alya it as just “Adrien” and everything was fine, but with anybody else the best she could do was “uuuuuuuuhhhhh”. 

She didn't have any need to fear though, Valerie was completely engrossed in her work. 

Marinette didn’t quite know what to do with herself in the following moments. Valerie seemed to be having a personal moment with Marinette’’s sketchbook which she felt would be somehow rude to interrupt, so she kept quiet. Searching around the room with her eyes, Marinette let her gaze fall on random things as a distraction. Her cat pillow on her bed, her computer which she hoped to God wouldn't light up with some random alert because she hadn’t changed the Adrien background, her vanity where she kept the box for her miraculous, Valerie’s bag- Oooh. 

Valerie’s bag was a cute leather purse, but that wasn’t the ooh. The ooh was she had a magazine in it that didn’t exactly fit,causing the top to stick out of the bag. Marinette was able to see that it was a popular French teen magazine and that issue had been published last month. Ah, yes, Marinette remembered that issue. She had the front cover of it currently secretly stuffed in one of her drawers along with a few other clippings from the same edition, because Adrien had been making the cutest face on it and she'd just had to add it to her wall.

Marinette’s stomach twisted.Oh no, Adrien was making the cutest face on it. And this Valerie girl had it in her bag. What else could she have possibly been carrying around for other than the fact that Adrien was plastered all over most of it? Marinette couldn’t remember anything else interesting in the magazine. That had to be it. 

Her worst fear was coming true. This stunningly beautiful young model was totally completely in to Marinette’s Adrien. And worse, with how nervous she made Adrien, ,Marinette had no doubt that he was into her as well. Two models? They’d be a power couple. They'd have gorgeous children and live in a big house and be famous. And Marinette would die alone up in her little attic bedroom because she could never love anyone other than Adrien. She could feel her heart failing. 

Valerie’s head snapped up and Marinette snapped out of her reverie, though the pain still lingered in her head and in her heart. Marinette probably wouldn't have snapped out of it at all if it hadn’t been for the expression Valerie was giving her. Still blank faced, yes, but a softened blank. It wasn’t an “I’m proper and don’t really want to be here” blank; it was a “wow.” blank. Marinette leaned forward as Valerie squinted her eyes at her, her full red lips slightly parted.

“You really did these?” she asked, gesturing to the sketchbook with a fluttery princess sweep of the hand.

That annoyed Marinette. She wanted her to stop doing things like that. And why was it so hard to believe that Marinette had done them?

“Yes,” she answered briskly.

Valerie took another moment to gather herself. “They’re good… they’re great!”

Okay, Marinette liked her a little better. Now she had two designer’s children/models backing her work. Nice. “You really think so?”

Valerie nodded. “I think you could definitely be famous one day if you’re already designing like this. In fact, even if you're not, I'll still buy your work.”

“Wow.” Marinette was stunned. She definitely had not expected this. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” Valerie returned the sketchbook. “I could never do anything like this. I got all of my parents looks and none of their talent.”

Marinette flashed a kind and knowing grin. Self doubt was something she was all too familiar with.

“I'm sure you could,” Marinette told her. “You just have to have the right attitude... and a lot of patience.”

“Maybe,” They made eye contact and this time Valerie was the first one to look away. “For now I’ll just stick to modeling though.” A pause “I’m excited to see your ball gown.”

“All in good time,” Marinette smiled slyly and returned her sketchbook to its rightful position on her desktop. 

She regretted saying that. She should have said something to keep the conversation going. Now, the two were sitting once again in awkward silence and the party seemed like a closed discussion. To bring it up again now would just be boring.

Marinette desperately searched the room for something to talk about. Cat pillow, computer, vanity, purse-

“Do you like that magazine in your purse?” Marinette blurted. 

She immediately hated herself for it. There was no possible good direction that conversation could go. Besides, how rude was it that she was looking into someone else's purse? Valerie seemed to share that thought because she looked none too pleased. But then again, when had she looked pleased in the short time Marinette had known her?

“Uh, no, not really, I just, you know, it’s something to do when there are breaks in my schedule,” Valerie stammered.

If Marinette was having chest pains before she was having a full on heart attack now. Valerie had broken; lost composure. She did not like this magazine; she LOVED it. And what else could it have possibly been for than the wealth of amazing Adrien pictures hidden inside? That’s why Marinette loved it, after all. 

Valerie decided to hide her treasure from prying eyes by slowly sliding it behind her feet and slightly underneath the chair, but Marinette caught one last thing she hadn’t noticed before as it disappeared from view. And that was that it was completely wrinkled and torn around the edges, at least,the top part that she could see was. If there’d been a doubt about Valerie’s obsession with that issue before, it was gone now. That thing had clearly been everywhere with her since the moment it came out.

Marinette wanted to stop, but she just couldn’t let it go, “Do you have it because of Adrien?”

“No, of course not,” Valerie’s composure seemed to be regained, so Marinette did not fully trust this answer.

It was all she could do to keep from making squinty eyes at Valerie across the small space. Before she could ask another invasive question, Valerie spoke up with one of her own.

“I know it's not my place,” she confessed, “But I can't help but be curious. You’re the one Adrien was texting in the car too right? Are you two dating?”

Marinette’s whole face went from cream to pink in an instant.

“W-Why would you think that?” she stammered.

Valerie lifted her small shoulders in an elegant shrug. How did she make shrugs elegant? Marinette didn’t know, but she did know that Valerie better not start shrugging in front of Adrien.

“It's just a feeling I got,” Valerie told Marinette.

Marinette found it almost funny, but it also filled her with hope. The fact that this stranger had thought she and Adrien looked like a couple put her on cloud nine. But this also meant that Valerie and Adrien weren't dating… yet. Marinette still had time to stop it. 

She wasn’t really sure how she planned on doing it until more words were coming out of her mouth that she couldn’t stop. “Yes, Adrien and I are together.”

“Really?” Valerie looked like she didn’t believe it.

Marinette pouted. “What do you mean really? You’re the one who asked.”

A small crease had formed between Valeries eyebrows, “It’s just that you seemed surprised when I asked.”

“That’s because,” Marinette leaned on an armrest for support and tried to play it off as relaxed. “Most people, ah, can just kind of tell. They don’t feel the need to ask.”

Mystery explained. Valeries face returned to its default: expressionless. Marinette held in a sigh of relief for the small victory. What had she just done?

Adrien came back through the floor door. He was swallowing something, and the girls had a pretty good guess that it was chocolate chip cookie considering he had a whole handful of them. 

“Looks like you got sidetracked,” giggled Marinette. The room was suddenly much brighter in her eyes.

Adrien laughed and her heart filled with joy. “Just a little bit,” he admitted. “Valerie, we better be getting back to my house. Dinner will be happening soon.”

“You haven't ruined your appetite with cookies?” she asked point blank. Marinette didn't even think she was teasing. She was truly just judging Adrien for his cookie eating.

He was unfazed. He seemed to have adjusted to this atmosphere. Or maybe he was used to dealing with these kinds of people.

“It was only my first,” he pointed to his mouth.

“Second,” Valerie told him.

“The answer is still no, my appetite is not ruined, so let’s go. I’ll save these for later,” he held up his handful of cookies.

“Ask Papa on your way out and he’ll give you a box,” Marinette told him.

He smiled at her, “thanks.”

Valerie stood to go and grabbed her purse, but the top of her magazine caught underneath the chaise and it fell out of her bag revealing a picture of Adrien on the front in the latest designer clothes looking like he was leaning up against a nonexistent back wall. Adrien leaned down to pick it up for her with his free hand, and smiled when he saw what it was.

“Hey,” he held it up. “Are you checking out my work?”

Valerie snatched it rather roughly out of his hands. “I most certainly am not!” she told him as she crammed it back in her purse. Then she was down the stairs but not before Adrien and Marinette both caught the slightest hint of pink on her cheeks. 

“What was that about?” he asked dejectedly.

Marinette shrugged. She tried to make it look elegant. It didn’t.

“Well, I’ll, uh, see you in school Marinette,” Adrien gave a final wave before following Valerie out.

“See ya,” Marinette called.

She sighed. Tikki flew out of her jacket.

The kwami immediately rounded to speak with her partner, “You do know Adrien asked you to help make Valerie happy, right?”

“I know!” Marinette groaned. “But I couldn’t just let her steal Adrien right out from under me!”

Tikki shook her head. “Alright, I just hope you know what you're doing.”

Marinette hid her face in her hands and let loose another groan. “I don’t.”

*****

The two young members of high society were back at Adrien’s house within a matter of minutes. The sun had set a little while ago so it was dark outside, but the door to the house stood ajar, letting harsh white light pour out. The light illuminated a woman's silhouette.

Adrien grimaced to himself. He already knew who it was and why. As soon as they got out of the car, Nathalie marched down the front steps with a scowl on her face.

“You’re late,” she scolded, arms crossed. “And furthermore you did not tell me you were even leaving. I checked all over the house and you were nowhere to be found. I had to be told through text by the Gorilla that you weren’t even home.”

Adrian shrugged and offered a simple “Sorry.”

Nathalie sighed, nothing to be done. “Next time let’s not drag our guests around town at odd hours.”

Adrien looked over at Valerie hoping for some back up. He was hoping for a “I had fun!” or at least a “really, it was fine.” But surprise, surprise no backup came. He sighed and stared down at his shoes, illustrating his defeat to Nathalie.

She nodded once, acknowledging his response, then turned on her heel and ascended the steps. Valerie was close behind the assistant with Adrien being the last to follow. Once inside the party made a right into the dining room. The whole house was so bright and white that you would think it was daytime out. At the long empty dining room table, three places were set. Adrien stood dumbstruck in the doorway. His father was coming? So he was able to come to dinner when there was someone he considered important at the table.

Adrien grunted involuntarily and Valerie flashed him what he could only interpret as a quizzical look. He tried to play it off with a smile as he gestured politely for her to take a seat. She sat next to the end on one side and he rounded the table to sit across from her. His father could sit at the head of the table tonight. That was strange to think about. His father would be home for dinner.

“M. Agreste, regrettably, is unable to make it tonight-”

Or not.

“He would like to extend his sincerest apologies,” Nathalie finished reading and tucked her tablet under her arm.

She stepped off to stand in her regular spot on the side of the dining room. Their dinner conversation was not going to be left unmonitored, of course. Adrien tried not to sigh as food was brought in and they began to eat. 

He wondered what the empty plate was about then. He seriously doubted his father had ever actually planned on showing up so what was the point of it? What statement were they trying to make? Were they trying to act like they were normal? Like they were a loving two person family? Why? Valerie didn’t care if Adrien’s father ate with him each night or not. She didn't seem to care about anything.

Adrien checked himself. Getting all worked up inside would get him nowhere. Maybe he could go out as Chat Noir tonight and blow off some steam.

The dinner dragged on unbearably slow. Adrien could not think of anything new to talk about that might interest Valerie and she certainly wasn’t helping the situation. They were constantly lapping into silence as they ate until Nathalie would give a cough, like she was instructing Adrien to keep talking.

The things they did talk about were trivial. The weather, their work as models, where they were from and their school life. Things like that. All in all, it felt like the kind of conversation you'd have with a stranger while waiting for a bus at the bus station. 

And throughout the meal, Valerie was growing more and more distant. She kept glancing out the window at the nighttime city skyline, like she was waiting for something. Apparently, whatever it was wasn’t coming. 

Practically as soon as she was done eating, Valerie excused herself. Nathalie and Adrien saw her out. With the large front doors closed tightly behind the girl, they both breathed a sigh of relief. 

Nathalie straightened and looked to Adrien, “I think that went well.”

He almost rolled his eyes, but remembered how she'd panicked earlier at the thought of dealing with someone else his age, and decided to give her a pass. There were two things he was absolutely certain of. Firstly, that this visit had in no way gone well. Secondly, Valerie most certainly did not want to be there.

Shaking his head, Adrien went up to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I #LetAdrienEat2k16 lol. Thanks for reading!


	6. Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette & Alya and Adrien & Nino spend some quality friend time and make some final plans for the masquerade birthday ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, I'm trying to study for my AP bio test tomorrow. And I'm also gearing up to write the final chapters since this ball is what we've been working up to.

“You. Are. Insane.” laughed Alya. She used a different dramatic pose to accent each word.

At the other end of the park bench sat Marinette. The two had come to the park across from Marinette’s home to talk. Marinette had both hands up to her mouth in an effort to chew on as many fingernails at once as possible. At this reaction from her friend, she took her fingers out of her mouth and drove her knuckles into her cheeks, pouting. It made her face puff out like a chipmunks.

“This isn’t funny,” Marinette told Alya. 

Alya sighed and leaned back, “Alright, one more time. Let me get this straight. There’s a super hot model girl that Adrien is trying to impress and you THINK they MIGHT have the hots for eachother so, to warn her off, you decided to tell her that you and Adrien are dating?”

Marinette crossed her arms and turned away. “When you put it like that it sounds stupid,” she pouted.

“That’s because it was stupid.” interjected Alya.

“I know!” Marinette flopped out across the bench in a show of ultimate despair, draping herself across Alya.

Alya froze for a minute, surprised, then smiled. She pet the top of her BFF’s head, smoothing back her hair. “So what do you think you're going to do now?”

Folding her hands together under her chin, Marinette looked up at Alya with her best puppy eyes.

“No,” Alya said arms crossed.

Marinette sat up, “What?”

“No,” repeated Alya. “Do not give me those eyes. I am not giving advice on this. I do not want this coming back to bite me.” She made wild hand gestures throughout her protestations to prove her point.

“Come on,” Marinette urged. “How could this possible come back to you? Just… What would you do if you were in this situation?”

Alya groaned. “I wouldn't be in this situation!”

Marinette was already grabbing at her friend. Time for panic. “But what if she brings it up to him? She’s like the queen of small talk!”

Marinette sat straighter and gave a straight face and smooth voice to mock Valerie's demeanor, “‘Adrien, are you matching your girlfriend for the party?’ ‘Adrien, when will your girlfriend be here?’”

Her hands flew to her face and she dug her claws into her cheeks, distorting her features, as if they weren’t already twisted enough by her panic. “And then they’ll both be confused so they'll sit there and figure it out and then they'll both be really weirded out and Adrien will think I’m a freak and I'll never get to dance with hiiiiiiiiimmmmm-”

Alya put a hand over Marinette's mouth to quiet her. Then she slowly dug Marinette’s fingers out of her own face. There were red marks, but they looked like the kind that would be gone in a couple of minutes.

Sighing, Alya patted Marinettes hands, “I just don’t know what to tell you. I’m sure everything will be fine though.”

Marinette slumped into the bench.

“Maybe you should just tell her,” offered Alya.

“What?!” Marinette jumped and turned on her friend.

Alya crossed her arms again. “Hey, you're the one who wanted advice. Besides, it was just a suggestion. I just thought maybe it’d be easier if you just came clean to this Valerie girl. That way you have more control over what happens. She doesn’t sound too mean, so-”

“So maybe she’ll understand and she won’t tell Adrien what I did if I beg hard enough,” Marinette finished the thought.

Alya nodded, “Sure, sounds good.”

“Besides,” Marinette smiled weakly. “I’d rather have her think I’m a total freak than Adrien.”

“Right,” Alya assured her.

An exhale and a nod, Marinette had put her game face on. “Alright then. At the party, I’ll take Valerie aside and tell her the truth.”

“I think that's the best decision you could have made under the circumstances,” Said Alya with a smile. She put a comforting arm around Marinette’s shoulder.

The girls talked a bit longer in the park. Alya was doing her best to get Nino to wear something presentable for a masquerade ball. Chloe was so obnoxious about the whole thing. They had a history test next Tuesday. Etc.

Alya’s phone pinged and she snatched it off the bench next to her, holding up a hand to cut Marinette off mid sentence. It hadn’t been anything important so, feeding off of Alya’s urgency, Marinette leaned over to view the notification. It was just one of her game apps calling her to come play.

Alya grunted and dropped her phone in her lap. Then she caught Marinette's expectant stare.

She laughed, “This Ladybug hiatus is really getting to me. I could’ve sworn I’d turned off all non-news alerts.”

She picked her phone back up, and with a few quick taps, she completed what she thought she had done last night. Nothing but Ladybug causing or related events would come through now. She sat back again with a satisfied grin and an exasperated sigh.

Marinette leaned on her elbows, “It is kind of relaxing, but I doubt it will last for much longer.”

“Relaxing,” Alya sat up straight indignantly. “Can’t you see how tense I am?!”

Shaking her head, Marinette giggled. After a moment, Alya gave in and giggled too.

“You’re right though, I don’t think it will be much longer,” agreed Alya.

“Speaking of which,” Marinette stood. “I better get going, because I don't have that much longer to work on my dress.”

Alya hopped up, “Can I come?”

“Nope,” Marinette shook her head, “because I don’t have anywhere to hide it and even YOU aren’t allowed to see yet.”

Alya smirked, “Ah, so it's big then.”

Marinette crossed her arms “No hints.”

“You’re sooo mean,” Alya told her.

Giggling, Marinette stuck her tongue out at her friend. Then she took off in the other direction back to the bakery. Waving back over her shoulder, she called, “See ya later.”

Despite knowing Marinette wasn’t looking, Alya smiled and waved too. “Have fun!”

*******

Adrien stood before a full length mirror in a changing room linked to his father's office. He had on the complete and finished full white suit, mask included. This was to be his final fitting. Plagg whirled around and zipped up and down, looking his partner over.

“What do you think?” Adrien asked.

At the question, Plagg backed away some, facing Adrien, not the mirror. He put a small black paw on his chin and ‘mmmmmm’ed. “You look like a dork.” He concluded.

Adrien smiled, “Coming from you, that means I look great.” He straightened his lapels.

Plagg shrugged, flew over, and sunk down to sit on Adrien's shoulder. “Maybe white’s just not my color,” He told the boy. “It’s definitely not Chat Noir.”

“Thanks,” replied Adrien. 

He had chosen the white suite to keep as far a resemblance from Chat Noir as he could manage, but he was pleased to find that he actually looked really good in it. It fit him well, it better after three fittings, which was showed off by the bright, eye catching white. Plus, the gold matched his hair and complemented his green eyes. He should have known it wouldn’t have even been an option if it weren’t meant to look great on him. If only Ladybug could see it.

“Adrien,” called a muffled voice from the other side of the dressing room door. “Come out. Let me see.”

Plagg went to hide in the corner of the dressing room as Adrien reached for the door. They’d made the mistake at the first fitting of keeping him in the jacket like they would normally, and they were very nearly discovered. It was only thanks to a quick thinking and highly embarrassing excuse from Adrien about a serious itch that allowed them to escape back to the dressing room and hide Plagg properly. 

Adrien stepped into the brighter lights of his father's office. His father immediately descended on him. That was something nice about these excruciating fittings; his dad had been in charge of them all. Sure, it was incredibly awkward and as usual neither of them really knew what to say, or had anything to say for that matter, but at least Adrien got to see him. 

Nathalie stood off to the side, poised and ready to receive instructions. Nino stood beside her, respectful and quiet. He had been doing his very best not to get put back on the “Bad Influences’ list Adrien’s father kept and had been doing a really good job. Adrien was glad to have a friend willing to try so hard for him. 

After several minutes of moving and inspecting Adrien, Gabriel once again stood tall. He delivered one word. “Perfect.” The nodded to Nathalie and walked brisquly from the room. Nathalie was right on his heels, and the two boys left in the room could hear Gabriel's stream of instructions about what should be done with the suite from there fading as the adults disappeared down the hallway.

Nino finally approached Adrien, “Dude, that was… intense?”

Adrien laughed and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, fittings with my Dad usually are. But he said it’s perfect,” Adrien smiled. “Meaning it’s done and I look great.”

“That is not what I got from that,” Nino shook is head.

Adrien shrugged, “Eh, well, I know him better.”

Nino smiled, “You do look good though. Like some fairy tale prince or something. Chic’s will be so into that.”

“You really think so?” Adrien chuckled, turning to look at himself in the nearest full length mirror.

“Yeah,” Nino nodded, “I mean, like-” suddenly, he blanched. “Wait, am I supposed to wear something like that? Alya’s been nagging me that I have to dress up, but I just thought, like, slacks and a not T-shirt.” He scratched the back of his neck and looked down at his shoes.

Adrien laughed “Hey, I’d be fine with that, but if you really want to impress Alya I'd be happy to lend you one of my suits.”

“Whoa,” Nino’s head snapped up. “Would your old man be cool with that?”

“I don’t see why not,” shrugged Adrien “I get new ones all the time.” He did a spin in front of the mirror to illustrate his point, “Besides, we’re around the same size. It’s no big deal.”

“Alright,” cheered Nino, “Thanks man, you’re the best.”

They high fived.

“No problem,” Adrien laughed. 

Then he retreated into the dressing room to change back to his normal clothes. He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. Things were really falling into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	7. Almost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is getting ready and the ball is about to begin!

Finally, the big night was here. Everyone in class, and a bunch of probably important unknowns, were busily getting ready for Adrien Agreste’s birthday celebration. Marinette sat in front of her vanity in her bedroom, staring at herself in the mirror. She was finding it very hard not to bounce around in excitement.

“Stop moving,” laughed her mother, Sabine. “You’ll mess it up and we’ll have to start all over.”

Marinette sat on her hands to try and contain herself. She’d asked her mom to help her put her hair in a fancy updo. Sure, she used to wear a bun every day, but she wanted something fancier than that. And Sabine was delivering with lots of swoops and curls. Marinette giggled at how pretty it was turning out and a piece fell.

“You see,” Sabine mock scolded, but her smile gave her away. “I hadn’t pinned that piece yet.”

Marinette’s hand flew to cover her smiling mouth, “Sorry.”

With another smile and a shake of her head, Sabine continued with her work. She was already about 20 bobby pins in.

Another thing Marinette was super happy about was her make up. She wasn’t one to typically wear anything, and she still wasn’t wearing much, but her mom had also helped her put on eye liner, Mascara, and lip gloss for the event to show off her big blue eyes and soft pink lips. Overall, she just felt really pretty and she couldn’t wait to show Alya… and Adrien, of course.

“How’d your dress turn out?” Sabine asked around a couple of bobby pins she’d stuck in her mouth to be used momentarily.

Another surge of excitement ran through Marinette and she fought to stay still, this time rather successfully. 

“It turned out really great,” beamed Marinette. “I just finished it earlier today.”

Sabine’s eyebrows drew together, “Did you check to make sure it fits alright?”

Marinette giggled at the same time a cloud of hairspray engulfed her head. She held her breath before continuing, “Yes, mom, I checked. Besides, I made it for me. I’d have been more surprised if it was the wrong size.”

Sabine smiled. “Alright. Alright. Just making sure you’ve got everything covered. This is so exciting!” 

She squeezed her daughter's shoulders, finished with her job. Marinette smiled and reached up to squeeze her mom’s hands back. They were both smiling so hard that their cheeks hurt. They stared lovingly at each other in the mirror. Sabine stepped around Marinette’s chair to kiss her on the forehead. 

“You really are beautiful,” she told her.

Marinette closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, “Thank you, mama.”

With a sigh, Sabine stepped back to look her daughter over one last time. “Alright,” She smiled again. “Time to get that dress on! Papa and I want pictures before you go!”

Sabine left through the door in the floor, which Marinette closed behind her. Marinette jumped up and down, partly out of sheer joy and partly to make sure her hair was secure. It was, but she dowsed it in hairspray once more just to make sure. As she sprayed, Tikki appeared.

“Put your dress on already!” She squealed. “I’m so excited! I want to see.”

“Alright. Alright,” Marinette laughed.

She went over and took the blanket off from over top her dress mannequin. 

Tikki gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

*****

Sabine smiled, “Oh, Alya, you look lovely.”

She let Marinette’s best friend in through the side door,where she’d instructed her to go earlier. Tom had made a mess earlier that day in the bakery and Sabine didn’t want it messing up the girls dresses, so she’d had Marinette text Alya to come in the side door, which let the girl right into the hallway behind the shop, safely out of harm's way.

“Absolutely stunning,” added Tom jovially as he appeared from the door to the bakery.

“Thanks, M. and Mme. Dupain-Cheng,” Alya beamed. She’d already gotten the whole thing from her parents and Nino, who’d picked her up at her door, but like most girls she could have stood there taking compliments all night.

Alya did look lovely. The top half of her hair was pulled back and all of it was in loose but neat curls that bounced around her shoulders. She too had put on a touch of makeup for the big event. Her dress was strapless with a simple straight neckline. It was entirely bright red chiffon except for a thick belt of black lace that extended from the middle of her ribs down to her hips. The bosom was a solid red and form fitting but the skirt was a modified A-line with large black polka dots scattered across its crimson chiffon. She had a black necklace, bracelet, earrings and heels to match and a simple red mask.

Nino shuffled in nervously behind her. He hadn’t stopped staring since he’d picked her up. Man, could he pick ‘em. 

“And you look dashing, Nino,” Sabine added as he entered.

“Thanks,” he grinned, brushing imaginary dirt off his shoulder. “My boy Adrien lent me the tux.”

She smiled at him and straightened his black bow tie. There was a series of thuds from the floor above. Everyone grimaced.

“I wonder who that could be.” Alya said knowingly.

“Uh, do you need any help, honey?” Tom called.

“No thanks, Papa.” came Marinette’s reply. “I’m fine. I’ve got it.”

In a moment, she appeared at the top of the steps. A vision in white. Hers was a true ball gown, the skirt so big that it brushed both sides of the staircase at once as she slowly descended. It was made of white taffeta. The top was a square neckline with sheer short sleeves containing gold accents that seemed to just slightly slip off her small shoulders. The bodice was fitted until just below her last rib where the dress suddenly filled out into the huge skirt. Vine like gold trim similar to that on Adrien’s jacket lined her neckline and the bottom edge of the dress,and a gold sash circled her waist, separating the form fitting upper half from the fuller lower. She wore simple gold earrings but had decided to go without necklace or bracelet. And in a small effort to not look too entirely much like Adrien, she had made her mask completely gold with little gold beads lining the edges and dotting the corners of the eye slits and a gold flower about the size of her eye accenting one side.

The group at the bottom of the stairs stood in awed silence.

Alya broke the spell. “You. Look. Ah. Maze. Zing.”

Marinette pulled at her skirt self consciously and blushed. Everyone was looking at her. “You really think so?”

A chorus of approval swept the small gathering:

“You’re going to rock this so much, like we-” “-oney, you’re absolutely gorgeous-” “-totally awesome, Marinette. I-” “-That’s my girl. Look at you. So beautiful.” 

Giggling, Marinette hopped down the last few steps. She wobbled a bit, but caught herself. 

Her mother put a steadying hand on her elbow, “Marinette, are you wearing heels?”

It was a simple enough thing, but worry very clearly lined Sabine’s entire face.

Marinette gave her a reassuring smile and reached down to grab an armful of the endless fabric surrounding her legs. She hefted it up to reveal her little white shoes. “They’re kitten heels, mom. Perfectly safe. Even I can handle them.”

“And don’t forget, I’ll have her back all night,” said Alya, sliding over to put an arm around Marinette’s shoulders.

“Oh my gosh, Alya,” Marinette cried. “You are absolutely gorgeous!”

“Thank you very much,” Alya replied. She gave a twirl to show her outfit off, when she stopped both her curls and her skirt continued to spin for a second before bouncing back and falling into place. “Can you believe I found something like this?”

Realization dawned on Marinette “A ladybug inspired dress!”

“Yes!” Laughed Alya. 

Marinette laughed to, “And to think that was one of my top ideas before this one.”

“You should have done that! We could have been twins!” joked Alya with a nudge.

Marinette wobbled slightly on her kitten heels then nudged back with a grin. She joked in return, “Yeah, but similar dresses would have been SO embarrassing one of us would have absolutely had to change.” 

Everyone laughed. Then,it was time for pictures according to Marinette’s parents. They took ones of Marinette on the steps, the three of them as a family, Marinette and Alya, Alya and Nino, Alya and Marinette and Nino all together. Silly one’s. Serious ones. Etc. Etc. Until...

Nino pulled his sleeve up to check his watch.“Looks like we better get going,” he said.

Sabine reached for the door but he quickly grabbed it first.

“No, no, I’ve been told this is my job for the night,” he cringed, “I mean I know this is my job for the night and I definitely did not get advice from my friends about how to act. Ah- um- Ladies.” he gestured out the open door as he finally addressed them.

With a chuckle, Alya took his invitation and walked first out into the night. “What a gentleman.” She grinned at him as she passed.

Nino blushed.

Marinette quickly shuffled from one side of the hallway to the other, giving her parents hugs and kisses goodbye. They told her to have fun and be safe and shot her final compliments on her way out the door. Then, she joined Alya in the night air. Nino was right behind her.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and extended a crooked arm to each of them, “Ladies.”

Giggling, they each linked arms with him on either side and the three began walking down the street.

Alya chuckled again, “Oh, I am loving this.”

*****

Adrien adjusted his mask in his reflection on a silver tray the catering company had just brought in and set on one of several long tables. He didn't know what they were going to use it for yet but right now it was acting as his mirror.

“These things sure are hard to keep on without magic,” he muttered, pressing his white and gold trimmed mask onto his face even harder. 

Plagg peaked out from Adrien’s collar, “Yeah, too bad there’s no such thing as a Chat Blanc to dress you up in silly white masks and suits when you need him.”

“Shut up,” Adrien shoved Plagg back down into the jacket gently with one finger.

He could hear Plagg muttering beneath the fabric and smiled. Across the room, some one burst out yelling. It was his father. Adrien tensed. And it wasn’t aimed at him. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. Then, he slowly inched his way down the long table to hear what was happening at the other end. 

Gabriel’s ridicule was aimed at a young woman who couldn't have been more than 20 years old, at the oldest. She was cringing under his verbal blows but accepting every one. Adrien could see her white caterers jacket had the name Clementine embroidered on the breast.

“Are you an imbecile?” The famed M. Agreste shot at her. “Is this really acceptable to you?”

She stared intently at her feet and stray brown locks fell out of her tight bun and into her face. “I’m sorry, sir. I-”

“Sorry is not good enough,” Gabriel advanced. “I don't care if we have to wait all night, we will have the correct cake, and if that means you have to go back to your kitchen and bake a new one then that’s what I demand you do.”

“But-” she looked up to plead with him but he was standing tall and looking down over his glasses in a way that Adrien knew all too well. 

This girl was done for.

“Yessir,” she moped and turned to walk out the door.

Everyone else from the catering company had been acting as if they couldn't see or hear what was going on. They kept to their own business and continued setting up the tables and the meal, even as the girl left.

Gabriel was still standing there, stormily muttering to himself about how could such a high end catering company put such a novice in charge of such an important task. Adrien edged closer.

“Everything alright?” he dared to ask.

“It will be,” seethed his father. “In the meantime, I know you can feel restricted with me around so I’ll take my leave for now and let you have fun. I suppose it is our birthday party, after all. Just don’t have too much fun and try to behave respectably as I’ve taught you.”

Adrien nodded, “Yes, father.” 

Yeah, he was always upset that his dad wasn’t around, but this was actually doing him a huge favor for once. He was free to let loose a little bit. 

“Good. Nathalie, call me back when it’s time for cake,” Gabriel folded his hands behind his back and walked out.

Adrien smiled. Soon the first guests would be there and it would be time to party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love seeing all the kudos and positive comments this is getting. Thank you all so much and Thanks for reading!


	8. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ball begins and everyone arrives, causing some characters to run into each other for the first time and leaving other characters lost in the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm having a bit too much fun visualizing this whole thing and coming up with everyone's outfits. I hope I put it all into words well. Enjoy!

The merry party of three arrived outside the great building where the masquerade ball was to be held. Gabriel had rented out an actual ballroom for his son's birthday. The three had been talking excitedly the whole way there, but as they got closer Marinette broke from their linked arms and skipped ahead a bit. She was so excited.

Tikki brushed against her leg and Marinette slowed down in concern, but the kwami was still safely nestled in place. Marinette had added a small secret pocket to one of the inner skirts to easily transport Tikki. It worked like a charm. So far, at least. But now Marinette had double the reason to not be clumsy tonight. She reached the front doors and turned back to her two friends, expectantly. Smiling, Alya and Nino quickened their pace to catch up.

Before they did, a long white limo rolled smoothly to a stop right outside the front doors. The driver hurriedly got out and rounded the car to open the door for his passenger. And out stepped Chloe Bourgeois. She had her hair in its typical ponytail but tonight it was studded and pinned with jewels. Her dress was primarily a bright fuschia and a thin mask of the same color encircled her eyes. The skirt of it was big and cascaded down in large ruffles with each new ruffle giving way to a deeper shade of pink. A jewel studded belt fit around her waist, and the top was a halter top. She had on jeweled pumps to match her belt and hair. But what really caught the attention was the V-neck that dipped way too low for someone of her age and body type.

“I think she’s a bit young to be wearing something like that,” Marinette told Alya in hushed tones as she reached her.

“I think I’M too young to see her wearing something like that,” Alya cracked.

Chloe had been approaching and was able to catch the tail end of the interaction. She smirked and tossed her hair, “Jealous much?”.

Then she sauntered up to the front door and glared at the door man until he did his job. After exchanging quick looks, the three friends went to follow her. Suddenly, as Chloe was crossing the threshold, Sabrina came barreling down the street, somewhat unsteady on her short silvery heels. Her gown was baby blue and pretty simple, with a boatline neckline and a sheath skirt. It was a lot less dazzling than everyone else's dresses, but it suited her very well and that seemed to make up a lot for it. Her silvery round mask was askew in her hurry. She stopped right outside and put a hand to her side, panting heavily. Then she spotted Chloe and smiled.

“Oh, Good,” Sabrina cheered, “I’m not late.”

Chloe turned back around and snapped, “Yes, you are. I expected you to be here when I got out of the limo. Jean had to open the door for me!”

Sabrina bowed her head, “Sorry, Chloe.”

“Whatever,” Chloe stalked off inside the grand building. 

Sabrina hurriedly scurried after her, and after exchanging several more looks, the three friends brought up the rear yet again. They noticed that more people in formalwear had been working their way out of the oncoming darkness and wanted to get inside and find Adrien before it got too crowded.

The teenagers stepped from the darkening Paris street into a whole new world

The entrance was followed by a grand ornate marble staircase, leading into and looking over the ballroom itself a level below, that prompted Nino to comment, “What? No one’s going to announce Lord Nino and Ladies Alya and Marinette?”

The girls giggled. From the top of the staircase, the three could see everything. The room was huge and circular. There was a narrow balcony that wrapped all the way around the room at the top of the staircase, overlooking the ballroom floor beneath it. Windows lined the walls of the upper floor giving the guests a magnificent view of the nighttime sky, while stone pillars were spaced at even intervals along the walls of the lower level to uphold the balcony above. The ceiling above was a large smooth dome painted over with scenes of angels and clouds. It was a very strange and entrancing contrast to the windows just below it.

In the center of the ceiling hung a huge clock. It was set into a sphere with four large clock faces set around it so that the time could be seen from anywhere in the room. At first it seemed a bit odd to Marinette that they would choose a large clock instead of something like a chandelier, but then she thought of how convenient it was and admired the unknown architect for going with practicality. The room was already plenty bright with all the lights lining the white walls so a chandelier wasn’t really needed. Besides, the clock was certainly beautiful, and fit well with the rest of the room. 

Directing their view downward, they could see over the ballroom itself. Circular tables, set for dining, filled the spaces in between pillars around the walls.There were two long tables full of assorted food and drink that stood on either end of the ballroom. This left plenty of space open in the middle for dancing. At the very far end an orchestra was setting up in a small area clearly designated for them. They sat next to an empty DJ booth which had clearly been brought in for the party, easing some of the teenagers fears that there would be nothing but classical music for the next few hours.

The color scheme of the whole room, aside from the beautifully painted dome, was white and gold. The staircase and floor were all white marble, all the railings were gold colored, and the pillars, walls and clock where all white with intricate gold designs. Even the windows were framed in gold and had gauzy white curtains which floated in the cool night air being let in through the open windows to drift down on the party. The decorations brought in by the party planner were white and gold colored too, adding to the effect. The whole place looked shining and wonderful and...magical!

Alya gasped, “Marinette, it’s like you belong here!”

In a daze, Marinette looked down and lovingly stroked her dress, then she looked back to the room. She really did fit in perfectly. Her dazed face slowly shifted into a small yet uncontrollable smile.

“I’m so getting a picture of you right in the center of all this for your parents later,” Alya leaned around Nino to tell her.

Nino shook his head, “Yeah, but my man Adrien is wearing white and gold too, so finding him in this is going to be like looking in a Where’s Waldo?”

They scanned the ballroom again, this time with intent. No one could pick Adrien out. Marinette stood on her tiptoes, peering in desperation.

Alya sighed, “There aren’t even that many people here yet. He can’t be that hard to find.”

Suddenly, a wave of new guests washed down the staircase. They all came right down the stairs, pulling Marinette and company along with them. The three weren’t able to stop until they touched down on the white marble ballroom floor. They tried to look around again but there were so many people and neither of the three was really that tall.

“No sign of Adrien,” Marinette slumped.

“No sweat” Nino obliviously informed her. “I’m sure we’ll run into him eventually.”

The three were unaware that heads around them were turning, unaware that a hush was falling in their immediate area, until an even voice came from above

“Did you say you were looking for Adrien?” 

A little over halfway down the staircase stood Valerie Marchand, looking infinitely more stunning than the last time she and Marinette had met. She was on their side of the stairs gazing down at Marinette, the only one she seemed to recognize in the whole room. Having arrived just after the large wave of guests, she had fortunately, but completely unintentionally, simultaneously avoided the jostling of the mass that could have disrupted her serene air and accumulated an audience right at the bottom of the staircase to witness her splendid arrival. She stood chin up, back straight, shoulders back, as expected, and she’d added an extra flair of letting her hand trail lightly along the golden railing during her descent, as if she were really were a real princess entering her own ball. She was being reacted to as such.

Those around Marinette were dazzled by every inch of Valerie. Marinette could physically feel the air rippling around her with talk of the pretty new arrival. Valerie stood resplendent above the masses in a gown that reminded Marinette of Belle’s gown from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, except Valeries was a deep blue that perfectly matched her eyes. Her deep blue eyes were made even more prominent by her large lacey mask which featured white lace on an ice blue base and covered most of the top half of her face. Her slim neck, shoulders, and arms looked even more delicate with the off the shoulder design and her hands were outlined in snow white gloves all the way up to her elbows. The skirt of her dress was rivaled in size only by Marinette’s. The whole dress was elegance at its purest form. Valerie's hair was done in a way similar to Marinette’s, but the bun sat higher on her head. She had on an intricate necklace made of many diamonds and two large diamond earrings. No doubt all were real.

She seemed unfazed by the disturbance she'd caused. It was probably something that happened on a regular basis, Marinette thought to herself, involuntarily balling up a portion of her dress in her fist. As soon as she realized, she released and smoothed it out. No need to ruin the gown she’d worked so hard on.

Valerie glided down the rest of the stairs. As she did, Marinette caught a glimpse of a sparkly shoe as it peaked out from under the large dark blue skirt. 

Once at the bottom of the steps, Valerie addressed them again, “Because if you are, I expect he will be finding me shortly, so you could stay near me if you’d like.”

Before Marinette could answer, Nino took the offer as a matter of fact and jumped right into the next point of conversation. “Whoa, you must be Valerie. Adrien told me all about you. I’m his best bud, Nino.”

Valerie extended a hand, “Nice to meet you, Nino.”

He looked at it for a moment then smiled and shook it so energetically that her whole arm shook, since that had not been what she was prepared for. Her eyes grew a bit wider in surprise and when he was done she withdrew it and held it in her other hand, as if guarding a small animal. Satisfied with himself, thinking he’d handled one of Adrien’s biggest problems so well, he put a leisurely arm around Alya and grinned. Alya shook her head but grinned as well and leaned into him. She wondered if he really truly thought he’d done well.

“By the way,” Valerie said after a taking a moment to regroup herself. She redirected her attention back to Marinette. “You’re dress is absolutely amazing. It was definitely worth the wait.”

Marinette beamed with the flattery but said in reply, “Not as pretty as yours though.”

If there had been a hair out of place on Valeries perfect head she would have tossed it. She gave a slight smile. “That’s not true, and you know it.”

In fact, Marinette hadn’t known it. She looked down at herself again and felt her cheeks turned a bit pinker. “Th- thank you!” She couldn’t wait to see Adrien. 

Valeries gaze snapped to Alya, who’d been smiling at the interaction from second hand flattery. Yeah, it was her BFF that had made that awesome dress. Booyah! But then, fixed in Valeries stare, she looked like a deer in headlights.

Valeries face was still softened, though, for her at least. Alya hadn't yet been around her long enough to differentiate this from Valerie’s resting face, so she was very surprised when the stunning young model told her, “And you look beautiful tonight as well.”

Alya could feel her own face turning slightly pink now, too, “Oh, ah, thank you.”

Smiling, Nino squeezed her shoulder. Yup, that was his gorgeous date, everyone.

“I believe your dress has been inspired by a certain, ah… local heroine?” Valerie added somewhat unsmoothly.

Alya’s face lit up, “You know about Ladybug?”

Valerie’s face turned back to stone and she dismissed Alya’s excitement with a wave of her hand, “Everyone in Paris knows about Ladybug.”

“Oh,” Alya shrugged “Well, she hasn’t been very active in the time you’ve been here.”

“Yes,” agreed Valerie without feeling. Her face had slid into a borderline scowl.

Meanwhile, during this exchange Chloe Bourgeois had noticed a worryingly low amount of attention on her and had decided to confront the problem. She clicked confidently over in her studded heels to Valerie and the group, trailing an anxious looking Sabrina behind her. She shoved her way into their talking circle, right between Alya and Valerie and stood tapping her toe with her hand on her hips. Waiting. She stared at Valerie.

Valerie was not one to be daunted. She didn’t know Chloe and, as with most things, quite frankly, didn’t care. She stared right back at Chloe until the blonde cleared her throat.

Valerie raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

An excited Sabrina popped out from behind Chloe. “Oh my gosh! You’re absolutely gorgeous!” she squealed at the newcomer.

Valerie smiled briefly, “Thank you.”

“Sabrina!” snapped Chloe. She was having none of that.

Sabrina instantly caught herself with a gasp and assumed the same stance as her friend. 

Chloe flipped her ponytail and it sparkled in the light, “I heard you being all impressed with Marinette and Alya’s dresses, so I thought I’d show you mine.” she struck a pose that just screamed ‘I think I’m better than everybody else’.

Marinette, Nino, and Alya all looked to Valerie, interested in what kind of response this would solicit from her. For her part, Valerie had opened her mouth once as if to say something but quickly shut it again. Her brow was pulled together in the middle as she looked Chloe up and down. Finally, her little nose scrunched at the sight of the girl before her. 

Chloe was too absorbed in herself to take note of any of this. She took the silence as impressed speechlessness. “Don’t be shy. Go ahead and say what you think.”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” Valerie informed her.

Sneering, Chloe crossed her arms in annoyance. “What do you mean you can’t?” she snapped.She had planned on receiving a lot more compliments that night.

“If I were to tell you what I’m think, then it would be very rude. So you’ll have to excuse me this once for the sake of upholding decency at such an event,” Valerie folded her hands in front of her. 

Marinette’s jaw dropped. She waited for Alya to reach over and push it back into place as she always did but no friendly helping hand came. Marinette glanced over to find that Alya’s jaw was hanging just as low if not lower than her own. Between them, Nino’s eyes were wide and it was obvious he was trying to hold in his laughter. Sabrina had taken a step back in shock and seemed to be looking Chloe over and reassessing her life choices. 

Chloe was the last person to fully understand what had just been said. She stood, her own brow now furrowed, letting it sink in. A part of it was that she couldn’t believe anyone could possibly say something like that to her of all people, but after racking her brain she could find no other meaning behind the words. As it finally sunk in that she’d pretty much been insulted her stance became much more hostile. Her shoulders hunched, fists balled, and something close to a growl escaped between her gritted teeth. She turned abruptly on her heel and stalked away from the group. 

Sabrina went to follow but stopped to turn back and quickly say, “Oh, and Marinette, you look beautiful too. I didn’t have the time to tell you outside.”

“Thank you,” Marinette responded, but Sabrina had already scurried off after Chloe.

The group was left behind in complete silence as the party began to pick up around them. The original three stood in stunned silence, while Valerie looked at each one in turn wondering what had just happened.

“Whoa,” Nino finally broke in, “Intense.”

“You’re awesome!” Alya cheered Valerie on with a chuckle.

Valerie's smooth forehead was furrowed yet again, “Did I say something?”

The three erupted in laughter.

******

Chloe stormed off to the complete opposite side of the massive ballroom. People had begun to dance and she’d shoved her way through, sometimes even pushing dancers apart, until she reached as far away as she could go. She stood next to the orchestra in a huff, impatiently waiting for the much meeker Sabrina to pick her way through the growing crowd and catch up. When she did, Chloe unloaded.

“Can you believe her?” ranted Chloe “Does she even know who she’s talking to? Who do she think she is, saying something like that?”

Sabrina fidgeted, “Actually, she’s a-”

“Save it,” Chloe snapped. “I don't care. The point is she’s almost as pretty as me and her dress is almost as good as mine. ALMOST. And she has the nerve to say something like that about MY dress?! I hate it!”

“Well,she-”

Chloe held up a hand to stop Sabrina talking, “So by the end of the night, you’re going to do something about it.”

Sabrina was shaking with anxiety already, “What do you want ME to do?!”

Chloe heaved a heavy groan, “Do I have to think of everything around here?”

Sabrina cringed.

“It doesn’t matter what you do,” Chloe jabbed a finger in her friend's chest. “But it better be good and it better be big and it better put that obnoxious No Name in her place. Got it?”

“Yes Chloe. Of course. I’ll come up with something,” Sabrina was nodding vigorously trying to please Chloe.

Chloe looked at her in disgust before turning away, “Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, still no Adrien, sorry. Next chapter, I promise. Thanks for reading!


	9. Akuma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Villain. Enter Adrien. Enter awkwardness and misunderstandings.

Clementine sat misty eyed in her catering van parked on the side of the street. She was the one who Gabriel Agreste had blown a fuse at earlier for the cake mess up. She was not someone who was used to being yelled at. In her life she always did her best and things often turned out well for her because of it, but now that she had been yelled at she was a bit disappointed to find that the only reaction she was capable of was to break down and cry. Well, almost crying. She was trying very hard not to.

She hopped out of the van and into the dark city street. There was a bit of chill now in the night air, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she scurried into the squarish catering company building.The door swung shut behind her. 

She didn’t notice a small black and purple butterfly fluttering through the opening behind her just in time to avoid being crushed.

A few doors down and Clementine was in the kitchen. Taking her apron down off its hook, she used the corner to dab at her eyes again before putting it on. Crossing the smooth tiled floor she grabbed assorted things off of countertops as she passed, preparing to bake another cake. When she came to her station at the back of the room she let everything fall out of her arms into her workspace. Looking through it, her hand landed on a wooden stirring spoon and picked it up. But she couldn't bring herself to start working.

The worst part of it was that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of an excuse. It was all on her. She couldn’t say that she’d thought the paper had said yellow cake instead of Lemon. She knew it had been right. It was just that she was so nervous.This was one of her very first big assignments at her new job and she hadn’t wanted to screw it up. Unfortunately, she was so nervous that she was going to screw it up that she actually did.

Her pain finally bubbled over into anger. Why would M. Agreste do something like that? What a jerk! Now her superiors would probably hear about this and she’d be fired from her dream job at this high end catering company which she’d worked so hard for. The boy had probably complained to his rich daddy until he got all worked up about his precious child not having exactly what he wanted, she seethed. Maybe she didn’t want to be stuck in a kitchen all night making another cake for some rich guys brat kid who apparently couldn't appreciate a good cake if it wasn't his favorite flavor. Maybe she wanted to go to a ball, too.

She hung her head, and noticed a small black butterfly land on her spoon.

Before Clementine had time to react, her mind had gone completely blank. An eerie ice blue glow illuminated the corner of the vast dark kitchen as an electrified butterfly made of pure blue light outlined her eyes. Suddenly a deep voice was in her head filling up the now vacant space.

“My name is Hawkmoth,” the entity said in complete smug confidence.

Clementine, like most people in Paris, knew the name. She knew he was the greatest villain in all Paris. Maybe even France. Maybe even the world. But she wasn’t scared. For whatever reason, this felt so right.

“But I’ll be playing your Fairy Godmother for tonight, Cinder-Evil.” The dark voice continued. “You will get to go to the ball, and you’ll be able to exact revenge on those who’ve wronged you, too. All you have to do is bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses.” He’d worked himself up into a shout at this point. “Do we have a deal?”

Clementine was almost completely gone now. She barely recognized her own voice droning, “Yes, Hawkmoth.”

With her words, the spoon clutched in her fists wrapped with black magic, transforming into a darkly glittering wand in her hand. The dark magic spread over her hands, up her arms and all over her body, consuming all of her. When the magic shed off of her, it was no longer Clementine standing there. In her place stood Cinder-Evil. 

Her whole body, even her irises, turned varying shades of sickly pale white, the only exception being thick jet black streaks running through her otherwise silvery hair. What had once been her mousy brown locks had worked their way out of the tight bun and into a hairstyle so big it was doubtful it’d fit through a regular door. No matter though, her dress was so massive she wouldn’t have even been able to navigate the kitchen, let alone go through a door. Her caterers outfit and apron had given way to an electric blue dress with puffy shoulders nearly the size of her head and a skirt that ballooned out around her so massively it was instantly stuck on every cabinet around her at once. 

She didn’t have to fight her way under the skirt to know that there were crystal clear glass slippers on her feet. Dark gloves covered her hands and black makeup outlined her eyes and lips. The neckline of the dress came up to a sharp point in the middle, ending between her collarbones. Everything else about the dress was more rounded than angular. Lastly, Cinder-Evil was studded all over with assorted gems in different shades of blue, white, silvery, and black. They dotted her dress and filled her hair. Some even lined her face. This caused a very unsettling and unnatural effect, but also caused her to twinkle whenever she moved. A wicked grin crept its way across her face as she quickly looked herself over.

Cinder-Evils gloved hand darted out, snatching a lemon out of Clementines work station. She waved her new wand over the fruit and it transformed in her grasp into a small blinking bomb. Letting loose a cackle, she tossed it quickly up in the air where it stuck to the ceiling above her. A few seconds of beeping and BOOM. A new hole crackled in the ceiling. Some dust and debris fell on Cinder-Evil but she shook it off without a care, then jumped ten feet up to stand on the edge of the hole. Taller Parisian buildings surrounded her roof, so the nighttime city skyline was not visible, but she wasn't there for the view anyway. 

She laughed to herself atop the building, “Now that I’ve received my invitation, it’s time to go to the ball.”

********

Adrien slid out from behind a pillar. Actually he slid out from a side hallway, all the doors from the room, aside from the main entrance, were hidden behind the lower levels pillars in order to give the space a more continuous look, but to anyone watching it would have appeared that he’d just come out from behind a pillar. He had to stop for a moment and take in his surroundings. The party was picking up. Dancers swirled across the floor and the first boys from his class were already raiding the food tables. The place was packed. 

Just how many people did Nathalie invite? You leave to the bathroom for five minutes to make sure your mask is adjusted properly and the whole party starts without you, Adrien thought to himself. Not that he minded; he was glad it was going so well, but how was he supposed to find Valerie now in all this chaos? She was bound to have arrived already. He hoped she wasn’t bored and alone.

Adrien began to make his way through the crowd, skirting along the edge of the dance floor. By doing so, he passed the tables lining the walls and was stopped every few steps to be greeted. A fashion photographer here; a classmate there. He kept smiling, kept saying hello and thank you, all the while remaining vigilant of the bodies swirling around him. 

A sudden parting the crowd and Adrien caught a glimpse of caramel hair and dark blue silk. It probably caught his eyes more because it was completely stationary despite the tumult around it. Adrien smiled, excused himself from Kim and Max and maneuvered around a few more people until she came into better focus. There stood Valerie looking as elegant as ever standing straight backed near a marble pillar. It was obviously her despite the mask. No one else could look the way she did or present themselves in the same way. She’d probably chosen the spot so as not to get jostled and the dark blue of her dress against the pure white of the pillar behind her made her stand out even more.

He worked his way forward a bit more, pretending not to hear some of the greetings of those around him in order to get to his target faster. He finally broke into a clearer space. And suddenly Valerie was not the attention catcher anymore.

Next to Valerie stood a smaller girl. She was pale and delicate and almost ethereal. Everything about her seemed soft in a way that made Adrien want to go up and hold her. Her white and gold dress and mask was a serious contrast from the vibrant colors swirling around her, but she matched the room so perfectly that it seemed like everyone else were the ones that didn’t fit. Her cheeks were a brilliant rosy pink as she laughed at something someone was saying. 

Adrien had developed tunnel vision. He stepped through the crowd as if in a daze until he was right in front of her. She looked up at him almost in slow motion and her pretty bluebell eyes nearly doubled in size. Bluebell eyes? he thought, Just like…

“You look amazing,” he heard himself breathe.

The girl began wringing her hands as she responded, “Ah- Oh- Thank you! You’re amazing! I mean, you LOOK amazing!... but you always look amazing. I mean- wait, yeah, I meant that.” She bit her lip.

Adrien almost started laughing. Her speech had given her away. It was Marinette! Now he could see it through the mask. What had he been thinking about her eyes? Oh, well, he’d forgotten. 

Marinette, for her part, had luckily squeezed her own hand hard enough during her babbling to knock herself out of it before she said anything too embarrassing. She bit her lip to stop anything more from coming out and gazed up at Adrien, waiting for his response.

“Marinette,” He said with a smile. “I almost didn’t recognize you with that mask on.”

She squeezed her hands again. Keep yourself together. “Yeah, um, that’s what masks are for.. I guess.”

Adrien nodded slowly. “Right… Anyway, you really do look… beautiful, tonight.” He’d had to pause in search of the right word and he realized with a bit of a jolt that he suddenly considered Marinette extremely beautiful.

Her whole face turned red and it looked even brighter against the white of her dress. “Thank you!” She stared at the bottom edge of her dress, wondering what to do next. She needed to come up with some way to maneuver a dance out of him.

Suddenly, Nino broke into their little bubble with enthusiasm, “Whoa! You guys totally match!” A light blinked in his pants pocket and he pulled out a phone with a little ladybug charm on it. “Alya, it’s yours.”

Alya snatched it from his hand. While that was happening, Adrien and Marinette had been looking each other over after Nino’s first comment. They were both smiling like fools.

“Wow,” exclaimed Adrien. “It really is like we came together or something!”

Marinette fought the urge to bite her fingernails, instead entwining her fingers with each other behind her back. “Yeah, wow. What a coincidence. How did that happen?”

Valerie stepped forward with clearly visible confusion. Marinette felt like she was going to throw up as Valerie began to speak, “Wait, I thought you two were-”

Marinette stood dumbfounded, knowing what was happening but feeling powerless to stop it. Alya, as always, stepped in to save the day, though she wasn’t even thinking about defending her bestie this time.

Half way through Valerie's night ruining question, Alya screamed like she'd just been murdered. All attention within a 10 foot radius was suddenly on her. Previous conversations were abandoned and forgotten.

Alya stepped to the center of their little talking circle and waved her phone in the air like a madwoman “There’s an akuma villain!”

Instinctively, Marinette and Adrien both pulled fighting stances, but quickly shook them off and threw glances around to make sure no one had noticed. No one had. Buzz was quickly circulating through the immediate area about an Akuma villain somewhere off in Paris. 

Alya grabbed Marinette’s hand and looked her in the eye with a crazed smile, “There’s some crazy chic in a ballgown with a wand turning pigeons and squirrels from parks and rats from the metro into some kind of medieval servants.” 

Valerie snatched the phone out of Alya’s hand, holding it close to her face and quickly skimming over the information presented on the screen.

“Hey,” shouted Alya.

Looking up, Valerie blushed. She handed back the phone, “Sorry.”

Alya grabbed it back and held it firmly to her chest. Then she gave a guilty sideways look to Nino. “Maybe… I should be out there,” she said. “I mean this is the first action the Ladyblog will have seen in weeks and-”

Nino put a comforting hand on the shoulder and gave her a knowing smile. “Just go.”

She smiled back at him, “Really?”

“Yeah, just as long as you’re back in time to give me a dance,” he replied with a chuckle.

She hugged him, “Deal!”

Valerie was stepping forward, her breaths coming quick, “Maybe I should go too, you know, cause, um-”

Adrien was looking at her like she was crazy, but she was once again interrupted before she could finish her thought, this time by Marinette. The wheels had been turning in her head since Alya’s first excited announcement.

“Wait,” Marinette, grabbed Alya’s arm, “You said she was in a ballgown?”

Alya doubled checked her phone, “Yeah.”

Letting go, Marinette put a thoughtful hand to her chin, stroking her imaginary beard in full concentration. “Where would she be going in the city in a ballgown?”

Adrien jumped with a start, “You don’t think-”

A deafening crash came from above and suddenly shards of window glass were tinkling down on the party guests from the second story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say that I really love all the kudos and positive comments this is getting, cause this is only my first piece ever and I just feel really supported here. Anyways, Thanks for reading!


	10. Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien decide it's time to make their moves as Ladybug and Chat Noir, but are surprised when things don't go exactly as planned. And someone goes and gets them self in trouble.

Someone screamed and without fully understanding what was happening people began to scatter in panic. A ghostly white girl in an electric blue ball gown floated in through the newly made opening, laughing at the chaos she had already unleashed. Anyone who wasn't already heading for the door was after seeing her. And quite a few did people escape before wild looking men in three piece suites with a color scheme to match the floating girls dress came in and blocked the door. 

Marinette looked around and saw no other way out, “What do we do?” she called to her friends over the chaos.

“There are side hallways,” Adrien called back to the whole group, “Follow me.”

He started to shove his way through the mass of people, towing Valerie along behind him with a firm grip on her forearm. Nino and Marinette shared one last concerned look for Alya. They were a bit more reluctant to let her leave them now that the danger was up close and personal.

She caught it and laughed, “Go on! I’ll be fine! See you in a little bit!”

And with that she was lost in the wave of people. Marinette and Nino shared another concerned look but ultimately linked arms and pushed after Adrien and Valerie. They caught up with them behind one of the large pillars at the opening to a narrow hallway. Adrien still had a firm grip on Valerie’s forearm, but was staring at her in intense confusion. She, on the other hand, was looking anywhere but at him. Her eyes scanned the room wildly as she strained against his grasp.

“What are you doing?” Adrien shouted over the roar of the room.

She seemed to realize what she was doing as Nino and Marinette reached them. Staring at the bottom edge of her dress, she twisted her hips so she could watch the skirt swish around her feet. She looked like a small child who had been caught doing something bad. Adrien tugged on her arm again and her head snapped up.

“Do you think they’ll come?” the question tumbled out of her mouth. She looked to each person in turn, eagerly awaiting a response. 

“What?” Adrien’s face scrunched in confusion and slight annoyance. Why couldn't she just come? Why was she such a difficult person? 

Valerie stared at him blankly for a second, then shook out of his grasp in disgust. She began backing away from him as if he was about to lunge at her and drag her off with him. He seriously considered it. He had a feeling Father wouldn’t like it too much if their honored guest returned to her father with life threatening injuries. But she was talking over his thought process. 

“You go,” her back hit the marble pillar, “It’s just I- I have to stay!”

She slipped around the pillar and into the swirl of people, instantly swallowed by the mass. Adrien wanted to go after her. His natural instinct was to dive right in and grab her. But he’d lost sight and couldn’t waste time on that now. The best way to make sure she was safe would be to get Chat Noir out there and fix this mess. He hoped Alya was streaming straight to Ladybug herself tonight. 

He grunted. “Come on.”

He led Marinette and Nino back into the hallway at a fast walk. It was narrow and full of hazy yellow light, but the farther back they got the quieter it became and, by the time they reached the dead end with its cute little curtained window, they felt safe. In her panic, Marinette had had barely enough brainpower to hold her dress up, walk quickly, and register that she needed to get away to transform into ladybug at the same time. As soon as they got to the end of the hallway and stopped she nearly slapped herself for being so oblivious. The hallway was lined with doors. Each one was a private bathroom. 

She noticed Adrien looking around frantically, too. “I, uh, have to pee,” he told them. Before they could respond he’d darted into one of the bathrooms and slammed the door behind him.

“At a time like his?!” Nino shouted after him.

Marinette saw her chance, but how would she get back out as Ladybug without them noticing? She smiled as she had an idea, then quickly put on a more serious face to address Nino.

“I think we should all go into a bathroom, “ she told him, “It will be safer that way.” 

He looked at her doubtfully, “You sure?”

She nodded reassuringly, ”If they look down the hallway now, they’ll see us.”

Nino‘s feeling of safety brought on by that far reaching dead end dissipated, “Good point.”

“Text Alya so she knows where to get us when it's all done,” she instructed him, then she went to Adrien’s door. “We’re all going to hide in separate bathrooms, okay?”

“Yeah, great idea,” his muffled voice called from the other side.

Marinette nodded in determination. She made for the door across from Adrien’s and went to close it behind her, but Nino put his hand on it to stop her. He looked at her nervously.

“Couldn’t I come with you? Like safety in numbers or something like that?” he looked like a lost puppy.

Marinette cringed. She wanted to take him with her, she really did, but… “No, sorry, I, uh, kind of have to pee, too.”

She put a hand on his chest and gently shoved him out of her way. Then she slammed the door shut and locked it behind her. Leaning against it and taking a deep breath, she waited until she heard the click of another door, showing that Nino had hidden as well, to lift her skirt. Tikki zipped out from underneath and up into the air.

“An akuma?!” the small kwami asked.

“Yup,” nodded Marinette, “Looks like Ladybug is making a special guest appearance at Adrien's party tonight.”

With a grin, Tikki nodded in confirmation.

Marinette smiled as she flipped a lock of hair out of the way of her earring, “Tikki, Transform me!”

Tikki spun into Marinette’s miraculous earrings, lighting them up with the signature Ladybug pattern, and the familiar magic began to ripple its way across Marinette’s body. But something was… off. She felt it the moment she passed her hands in front of her face and the mask settled into her skin. Something about the way it sat on her face didn’t feel like it normally did. 

No time to think about that though; she was right in the middle of transforming. She spread her limbs out wide, allowing the magic to flow down her whole body and transform her completely. Okay, now that definitely wasn’t right. It was still incredibly lightweight but there was too much weight to it overall. 

She felt her yo-yo zip around her waist and drop on her hip. Ah, good, nothing weird with that. She finished out the little transformation routine she did every time and noticed the first definite change to her outfit when she did her ending high kick. Instead of red and black polka dotted spandex, she got a face full of black pantyhose.

Sticking her last pose for barely even a second, Ladybug spun to the mirror in the cramped space.

She caught sight of herself and jumped, “What?!”

*****

Across the hall and a minute earlier, Adrien, now Chat Noir had beaten her to it.

“A tux?!” he gripped the edges of the sink for support.

What was going on? He was half tempted to call Plagg back out to find out, but he reminded himself there was still a crazy lady out there ruining his party. With a huff, he shoved himself off the sink and took one final look at himself. His hair was its signature Chat Noir style messy, and the ears were right too, but his black mask was much bigger and fanned out on either side. No big deal. But then his suit was not even a suit at all. Well, technically it was a suit, or a tux rather, but it wasn’t a super suit. Everything about it was black. Everything. His bell was there, but it sat right in the center of a black bow-tie. His dark lapels came out to sharp points were the notch was. It was incredibly well fitting, which he realized he’d expected. What he hadn’t expected was matching cuff-links in the shape of cat paws. He smiled to himself. Nice.

He didn’t imagine it would be much for fighting, but it would have to do. Dashing out the door, he sprinted down the hallway and skidded to stop at the opening. Tiptoeing up to the pillar, he poked his head out from around it to catch a peek of the current action, simultaneously reaching behind himself. He did not feel what he expected and twisted his torso to get a look at his backside. Two long coat tails came down past the backs of his knees. He rolled his eyes, but then found his belt tail was still in place, peeking out between the two new additions. He smiled to himself. He guessed the outfit wasn't that bad if it still included his precious tail.

But that wasn’t the point. Feeling around behind him again, his black gloved hand brushed smooth metal. A sigh of relief. His staff was still there, just a little out of place. Taking it out, he stood ready, and leaned out from behind the pillar to get another look.

Cinder-Evil gently dropped to ground level, using her massive skirt as a parachute. Her glass slippers crunched on the shards of glass that now scattered the dance floor. The guests had long since hidden anywhere they could, behind pillars and under tables. She had given them ample time to do so, but Chat had a sinking feeling that was only because she knew they had nowhere else to go. Cinder-Evil spun slowly, surveying the room. Her sweeping gaze landed on one of the tables covered in food. 

“Come on, everyone. It’s a party! Let’s have some fun,” her grin was plastered on and she called out to the guests in such a sickly sweet way that it made Chat’s skin crawl. If he’d had fur it would have bristled.

As a few seconds passed and no party-goers emerged, Cinder-Evils face morphed from a plasticy smile to an uncomfortable half sneer to one of the deepest scowls Chat had ever seen. She glared at the men she’d brought with her and jerked her head violently in the direction of the table. Without saying a word, the servants stumbled over to the table and grabbed the edges.Then they all heaved together in silence, throwing the table up in the air and revealing about twenty well dressed people underneath. Some screamed. One man tried to make a new break for it, but was instantly smacked back down by the encircling servants. All the food now lay in ruins a few yards away.

“This is my ball now!” Cinder-Evil screeched. It was so harsh it must have hurt her throat, but she took notice if it had. “And it’s going to be perfect! So you’re all going to dance and you're going to have fun and you’re going to tell me how pretty I am and everything’s going to be great! Got it?!”

The table dwellers shook under her stare.

“I said, GOT IT?”

They nodded their heads vigorously. If they shook much faster they’re heads would snap off. The servants began picking people up by their arms and shoving them towards Cinder-Evil on the dance floor. She was smiling viciously. It was more of a snarl. 

She sashayed over to the soiled food on the ground. A fruit bowl had been overturned. She picked up an apple and waved her wand over it. It seemed to almost bubble, then, in its place, sat a stereo. It made sense; the orchestra had vanished. Cinder-Evils arm jerked as it adjusted to the weight, but she quickly set it on the ground anyway. Leaning over, she pressed play and turned the volume all the way up, letting the music flood the dance floor. In the meantime the captured guests were eyeing the exit, but the servants were too daunting for any of the guests to want to risk not making it past them. 

Cinder-Evil suddenly spun around, jerking to a stop facing her new guests. She looked very cross. “No one's complimented me yet.’”

The guests stood dumbfounded. The akuma villains glare intensified, and suddenly there was a chorus of adoration being rained down upon her and her jewels and her dress. Someone even complimented her taste in music. She smiled in satisfaction .

“Thank you, thank you,” she waved her hands majestically to cut them off. Then smiled again. “Now, let’s- oh. We could use a few more guests. Footmen, get the ones from behind those pillars.” Another wave of her hand indicated her intended target. 

The pillars to be checked were on the other side of the room. Chat was safe in his hiding place. For now. He relaxed some. He saw no real need to interfere until his Ladybug arrived. This girl wasn’t causing any real harm; she just wanted to have some fun. Defeating her might not be easy, but he’d prefer to know Ladybug was there to purify the akuma when need be. He decided to make a calculated move and let this ride out a bit for now, as long as no one was hurt. Just until his partner arrived.

“And if you see the wonderful birthday boy,” her voice dripped with sarcasm and malice and her completion darkened scarily. “Bring him to me.”

Chat Noir pouted, what had he done to her? Then he thought with a chuckle, good luck finding him. 

The footmen, as Cinder-Evil had called them, began dragging guests out from behind the indicated pillars. Chloe was one of the first ones revealed . Before they even got her out from behind the pillar, her protests could be heard. It was something along the lines of “ I demand you stop this instant! Do you even know who my father is?!” Obviously the giant wild servant things did not. Chat Noir suppressed a smile. Maybe Cinder-Evil would actually show Chloe how to have a good time. If that were possible then she definitely wasn't a villain. 

His relaxed and self-amusing thought was cut off abruptly. The last few people were getting dragged out, and Valerie was among them. Two Footmen had her under their arms on either side and were hoisting her up in the air to move her. She hung frozen and rigid in between them. Her gaze was straightforward, unnoticing of anything. In fact, if someone had seen just a picture of her face they probably would never have guessed she was being pinned in the air between two large hairy footmen, but there was fear in her eyes that twisted chat’s stomach. 

It hit him for the first time that she was a sheltered child. Exactly like how he used to be. Sure she was probably a way more trusted, being allowed to come to Paris virtually on her own, but she’d never seen someone walk on the grass in an area with a sign clearly telling them not to, let lone been faced with a super villain. He knew the excitement, the awe and the rush she was experiencing right then, because he had been in the same place as her only a little over a year ago. He completely understood why she wanted to be out there in the excitement. However, unlike Adrien, she didn't have a cool new superpower to jump into this first encounter gung-ho with. Meaning, she may be kind of enjoying the rush, but she was also defenseless and scared in completely new territory and Chat’s heart went out to her. He knew he couldn't wait any longer.

Placing his staff against the wall, he extended it rapidly, rocketing himself forward into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Finally getting in to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Thanks for reading!


	11. Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for fight scenes and puns :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Life's been getting kind of hectic for me, but I know my chapters are short, so I'll try to keep them coming a bit quicker. So, without further ado...

Ladybug lifted her arms awkwardly, not quite knowing exactly what to do with herself. The mirror made the mysterious changes obvious. She stood in the small private bathroom as Ladybug, but dressed to the nines in a red gown with black polka dots. The two ribbons that typically hung from either one of her pigtails were instead sticking out of her low bun, giving the effect that a large red beetle was perched on the back of her head with wings spread. Her mask was a silky red with dark black gems in the space of her spots. They glinted off her eyes, darkening their blue. The neckline of the dress was really high and long sleeves fit snugly to her arms, but there were cut out shoulders. Basically, it covered everywhere her short sleeves and square neckline had not. The entire bodice was fit to her, like her spandex suit, until the dress flared out at her hips. From there the bulk of it was in the back. It was actually a decent sized skirt, fluffing out around her hips and backside, but the front cut off right under her knees, she guessed to allow for somewhat better movement, and the fabric rippled back into the volume on either side of her. Black pantyhose protected her exposed legs. She thought the dress must be tougher than it looked, like her regular suit. At least she hoped so. The whole ensemble was very silky and smooth. Lastly, her shoes were glossy black strappy stilettos.

She noticed those last and balked at the sight of them. “Oh no,” she stumbled backwards, she felt the back of her dress hit the wall, bunching up and stopping her before she was able to press her back to it, “Oh no no no. This is not going to work.” 

Leaning over, she looked desperately for a buckle, she wanted these death traps off immediately, but there was none. She stood on one foot, balancing with her cushioned butt against the wall, and tried to slide one off, but it was stuck in place. 

Her heel hit the floor with a loud clack as she slumped, “Right. Magic.”

Ladybug wanted to call Tikki back out and get to the bottom of what was going on. And hopefully undo it. How was she supposed to fight in an evening gown? How was she supposed to fight in HEELS? She, the clumsy Marinette, had been tottering around in kitten heels and now she was expected to fight in stilettos? She didn’t think so. 

But then a scream murmured through the door. It was incredibly faint having had to travel all the way down the hallway and through a door of solid oak, but it was very recognizably a scream of fear. As Ladybug, she couldn't bring herself to be preoccupied with her wardrobe when someone was in danger.

Glad that she no longer had to hike a dress up to go quickly, Ladybug flung herself at the door. She balanced herself using the doorknob in order to take a step back so she could actually open it wide enough to fit her hips out. Once in a more open area, she sprinted down the hallway. With a shock, she realized it was actually quite easy. Of all the powers Tikki’s magical suit seemed to imbue her with, apparently the ability to run in heels was one of them. What a relief. 

Skidding to a stop at the end of the hallway, Ladybug pressed herself to the wide pillar at the end and peered around. Chat Noir was already in the thick of things in the center of the ballroom floor. Wow, he’d gotten there fast. An added shock to Ladybug was that she found him to be way overdressed for the task at hand just like her. 

He was battling Cinder-Evils footmen. They were large hairy men that didn’t look entirely human but were splendidly dressed in three piece suits of black and electric blue. Part of their peculiarity was they didn't seem to have complete control of their bodies and were very clumsy in their movements. This allowed Chat to plow right through their forces with his staff. But, still, there were just so many of them it was proving hard for him to get through. 

Cinder-Evil looked on. Her face was stormy and she looked as if she would explode at any second. Obviously she did not like having her little party interrupted. 

“Time for Ladybug to join the party,” Ladybug told herself with a smirk. Chat Noir would’ve liked that if he’d been near enough to hear it. 

She unattached her yo-yo from her hip and with a flick of her wrist sent it flying across the ballroom. It wrapped around a pillar on the other side. She yanked it once and went flying through the air. The muscles in her arms strained slightly as she held on with a pout. The dress weighed her down some with its weight and slowed her down some as it caught the air flying at it. She gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on her yo-yo string. 

But the payoff was what she expected and the footmen's faces were absolutely priceless as she plowed through them, knocking them over.

When she reached the other side of the room, her momentum whipped her around the pillar. She let it take her around only once before shifting her weight to slide across the floor, taking out a few more footmen and setting her down right next to Chat. Her yo-yo unwound behind her and found its way back into her hand.

He glanced over to acknowledge her arrival, concentration clear on his face as he swung his staff at the latest oncoming footmen, then did a double take. Looking her up and down, a big goofy grin spread across his whole face.

He swung his staff in one hand, planted it on the floor, and used it to prop his elbow on as he waggled his eyebrows at her flirtatiously, “You look PAW-sitively radiant tonight, My Lady.”

“Thank you. You don’t look half bad yourself,” She flicked her wrist, spinning the yo-yo out to whiz past a surprised Chat Noir’s head and smash into the face of a footman about to grab him. It whizzed back into her open hand as she giggled and Chat’s mouth fell open. “But you might want to keep those cat eyes of yours on the task at hand.”

He shook his head as if dislodging something and after another second he smiled, “Right.”

And then they were back at it. He was swinging his staff and she was twirling her yo-yo The footmen threw themselves at the duo with little to no heed for their own safety. All were easily thrown off and away, but they kept coming back. The super team was able to provide enough of a distraction for some of the trapped guests to make their escape. With no small amount of relief, Chat noticed Valerie making her way up the grand staircase, dark blue dress rippling out like the ocean in a storm behind her as she swiftly ascended. 

“That’s enough,” came a sharp cry from the other end of the dance floor.

The footmen froze at this outburst, so Ladybug and Chat Noir both shifted their focus to its source. Cinder-Evil was shaking with rage, her fists clenched. She looked mad enough to explode. One could only assume that she was done with having “her” party messed with and had reached her breaking point.

She held one darkly gloved hand out, “Miraculouses. Now. Then leave my party.”

Ladybug crossed her arms and scowled. “One, it’s not your party. Two, why in the world would we give our Miraculouses to you?”

With an obnoxious grin, Chat spun his staff around and let it land across the back of his shoulders so he could rest his hands on it, “Yeah. You’ve done a lot of yowling, but I’ve yet to see any claws.”

A growl ripped from in between Cinder-Evils clenched teeth. The super duo exchanged a look. This strange girl hadn’t lifted a finger against them yet. What was she going to do?

In one swift and rigid movement, Cinder-Evil extended her arm straight out to the side. Her darkly glittering wand was pointed down at the remnants of the fruit bowl littering the floor, but she never broke her gaze from the two young superheroes in fighting stances across the ballroom from her. Suddenly, all of the apples in the pile seemed to bubble before their eyes. As the apples morphed into smooth metal spheres a wicked grin spread itself across Cinder-Evils face, causing Ladybug and Chat to take an involuntary step back. Cinder-Evil then tossed the wand into her other hand. 

“Give me your miraculouses, or else,” She threatened, slowly lowering herself to pick up a sphere with her free hand.

Chat tried to diffuse the tension with an uneasy chuckle, “Or else what?”

Cinder-Evil eyed her enemies one last time, then, quick as a flash, chucked the sphere across the room at them. They dove apart to either side just in time as a small explosion erupted between them. The two skidded to stop a few yards from where they had been and looked at each other through the smoke, panting, while Cinder-Evil glowered on, unsatisfied by the measly black scorch and indent she had left on the smooth white dance floor. There should’ve been red there, too. She let out another yowl and reached for another bomb.

Then Ladybug and Chat Noir were back on their feet. There was a slight ringing in their ears, but they were otherwise unharmed. They didn't know how long that would last, though.They needed to stop this girl and quick. She hurled another bomb at them, this one directed more towards Ladybug. Ladybug flipped away but she could feel the heat on her toes as she lept and was not liking the overall odds of the situation.

Chat never liked seeing his Lady in danger. He gripped his staff tightly in anger watching Ladybug flip away from the explosion. Before it was over, but as soon as he could tell she would be safe, he rushed Cinder-Evil. No one tried to hurt his Lady. This needed to end now. He gritted his teeth in determination, raising his staff as he charged. 

However, Cinder-Evil caught sight of him before he was even halfway there and ducked quickly to retrieve another bomb. This one she let fall right in between herself and Chat. Like her minions, she didn't seem to be too concerned about her own safety. The dangerous tactic did its trick though; Chat backed off. He jumped backwards then ran back to Ladybug, who was just regaining her footing from her latest stunt. Cinder-Evil was already hurling her next bomb.

The super duo ran together out of reach of the explosions fiery grasp and skidded to a stop against a pillar. Cinder-Evil advanced towards them, scowling with all her might. She’d scooped up an entire armful of explosives.

“Miraculouses. Now.” She demanded.

Chat chuckled to himself. Ladybug sensed why immediately and shot him her best “don't do it” warning look. It didn’t work.

He flashed Cinder-Evil a shiny white smile and told her, “We’ll never give you out miraculouses, and there’s nothing you can do to PURR-suade us otherwise.” 

He stuck out his neck on the word and purred along to fully let is pun sink in. Ladybug groaned and put a hand to her head, while Chat put his hands in his hips and waggled his eyebrows at her. He was pretty proud of himself on that one.

A vicious snarl tore from Cinder-Evils throat, breaking them from their friendly moment, as she angrily heaved another bomb their direction. However, her rage was offsetting her aim, and the bomb landed to the right of the two. They shifted around the pillar so that it landed on the opposite side. The blast shook the floor beneath them and they exchanged a glance. The attack seemed to be getting stronger. 

Muffled screams and whimpers caught Ladybugs attention before she could retaliate or plan a next move. She slipped further around the pillar and found that a good amount of party guests were still hiding behind it. Gazing across the now hazy gap, she saw the same to be true of the pillar on the other side of the explosion. They were all desperately trying to stay quiet through their fear and were doing incredibly well despite the explosion that had just occurred mere feet from their hiding place.

A boom shook the ground gain.

Of all the pillars Ladybug could see behind from her current position she found the same masses of people. Her brow furrowed. She could've sworn they’d all made their escape. Why hadn't they? They'd had time. She looked back to the grand staircase. The footmen had retaken their guard duty when their mistress had decided that taking down the superheroes was something she needed to do herself. Oh. That’s why.

The ground shook again.

So did the people behind the pillars. Ladybug knelt next to the nearest person, a middle-aged man, and put a comforting hand on his arm, but looked over the whole small group in front of her.

“Don't worry,” she soothed them, “We’re going to make sure you’re all safe.”

The group seemed to relax just at her words, and someone quickly conveyed the message to the next group over and so on and so forth until the whole room full of pillar hiding guests were put somewhat at ease. In the meantime, Ladybug caught sight of Alya hiding just one pillar away. Her phone camera was trained expertly on her idolized super-heroines face. When she noticed Ladybugs attention was on her, she waved enthusiastically and mouth “Go Ladybug!”

Another boom and the floor shook again.

With a reassuring smile and a wave to the masses, Ladybug rejoined Chat Noir, who had been watching her back throughout the short ordeal. He looked semi-panicked. He didn’t know how to address a bomb threat like this and weapons like these were not something his staff could protect him from. He fervently hoped this dress suit was as durable as his real super suit, because he really didn't feel like catching on fire tonight. 

Ladybug didn’t know what to do either. She only knew one thing, that the guests were their top priority. They needed to make sure these innocent bystanders were safe. Her face was set with determination as she grabbed Chat around the waist.

He jumped and blushed slightly, “Wha-”

“Come on,” she cut him off.

Her yo-yo was already sailing through the air. It wrapped around the side of a now hollow frame of one of the large second story windows. With one yank and a tight grip on Chat Noir, she sent the two of them flying through the air towards the night sky. 

To those in the ballroom it appeared as if their heroes had gone up and out, leaving the fight behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fight scenes are a bit tricky for me, so I hope you're finding this understandable and enjoyable. Thanks for reading!


	12. Pillars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir attempt to regroup, but are soon drawn back int the fight. Meanwhile, Valerie appears to have absolutely no sense of self-preservation.

A chilling shriek tore from Cinder-Evils throat and echoed through the vast space. Panting, she stared at the direction in which the heroes had disappeared. After several seconds, she seemed appeased and turned back her party, physically shaking her anger off .

Ladybug and Chat Noir were sprawled on the floor of the upper level balcony. They lay amid shards of glass with their chests pressed to the cold floor, peeking between the white and gold leaf banisters onto the scene below. Ladybug had shoved her partner down as soon as they’d landed and the two had assumed this position. Now that Cinder-Evils attention was no longer in their direction, Chat sat up some and shifted his gaze to Ladybug.

“We need to be down there,” he informed her gravely. 

He had meant for it to be a statement, not a suggestion, but as soon as he got up to fulfill his own words, she had him by the belt tail, pulling him firmly back down beside her and holding him there.

“No,” she countered, “We need to think of the safety of the guests.”

“Who will be much safer once the clock strikes twelve on this Cinder-Evil girl. We’re the clock.” he continued.

A squeak to their right caught their attention. Their heads snapped in that direction. There sat Valerie Marchand, seated delicately among the shattered windows with her dress puffing out around her like a life raft. Her gloved hands were held to her pretty red mouth that had betrayed her whereabouts with its unapproved sound. With the shattered windows and the cool night air stirring the gauzy white curtains around her it looked like she was in the middle of some oddly concepted magazine shoot. The two superheros groaned internally.

“Don’t worry, We’re the good guys,” Ladybug quickly stepped in to try and quiet the girl.

Chat Noir held in a sigh of relief, glad that Ladybug took over before he could do or say anything stupid to give away that he already knew the girl in front of them. Ladybug was also conscious of this possibility and almost kicked herself before deciding that her words had been acceptable and to think more before she spoke from now on. 

Valerie’s hands darted away from her mouth and into her lap, revealing a huge white smile. It would have been unsettling if it had not so completely touched all of her person. Her eyes shone as she looked over the two. Her whole persona seemed to radiate light and happiness. It was a dramatic change from what the other two knew of her and was even more starkly contrasted by the situation they were in.

“Oh, I know!” she squealed. 

Her body seemed to convulse as she spoke, arms flew up and gloved hands balled. She caught herself and, putting a slim finger to her lips, glanced over the balcony to show that she knew the gravity of the situation. She wouldn’t blow their position.

Ladybug and Chat Noir for their part were in states of shock. This kind of emotion, this kind of expression, was unprecedented from Valerie. The heroes sat blank faced and wide eyed. They had to remind themselves that they didn't know Valerie. As Ladybug and Chat Noir they couldn't know her. 

Chat was the first one to pull himself from his surprise. He frowned disapprovingly, “Why didn’t you leave when you had the chance?”

“And miss this?!” Valerie looked at Chat like he had just recommended the three of them start a genocide for fun. 

Eventually, she slowly shook her head and her gaze wandered back to the floor below. Down on the dance floor, Cinder-Evil had instructed her footmen to bring out more party-goers, since so many of her first group had escaped, and was now conversing seemingly with herself while a blue butterfly outline framed her eyes. It sounded like she was promising herself that the super duo would be back for her to defeat. It only lasted a moment and then her eyes were back on the matter at hand: acquiring more guests.

The two superheroes continued to stare at the strange girl up on the balcony with them for a moment, caught up in everything that could be going through her impossible head. This time, Ladybug was the first one to pull herself out of the stupor. 

“Right,” she said uneasily, shifting her attention back to Chat. “I was saying that Cinder-Evil is only throwing bombs at us; the guests she just wants to be a ‘her’ party. Sure, they might be scared right now, but at least there aren’t bombs flying at them if we’re not down there. It’s better if we think of a plan first and then go in.”

Chat sighed, but couldn’t argue, “Alright, got any ideas?”

There was a rustling of skirts, and Valerie had her head in their bubble. She gazed from one to the other expectantly. They looked back at her in the same manner.

“Well,” she told them, “Go on.”

Ladybug decided to block Valerie’s presence out. She was too distracting and, to be honest, currently slightly annoying. Why couldn't this girl just leave well enough alone? And what as her thing against self preservation? Not the questions Ladybug should be pondering, she shook her head to dislodge them. Still in thought, she surveyed the level below. Chat mimicked her actions.

Down there, guests were being dragged out from behind nearly all of the pillars this time. It appeared this new party was to be much grander than Cinder-Evils original. People were shaking but obeying, corralled by the footmen. The villain was saying something-

“-and when you find young Mr. Agreste” an ominous feeling took hold of Ladybugs gut as the air around Cinder-Evil seemed to darken, “bring him to me.”

Ladybug had to keep control of herself. Why did Cinder-Evil want Adrien? No, that didn't matter. What mattered was Cinder-Evil wanted Adrien. And it sounded like she had much darker plans for him than making him her prince charming. It didn’t matter if Adrien was currently safe, tucked away in a back bathroom, if this akuma chic really wanted him then she’d keep looking until she found him. This couldn't be happening.

“Change of plans,” Ladybug hopped to her feet in a panic. “We need to get down there now!”

Chat grabbed her wrist to hold her back, “What happened to formulating a plan for the safety of the guests?”

Ladybug ripped her wrist violently from his grasp. “If we don’t stop her, she’ll hurt Adrien!”

He shook his head, surprised by her emotion, “They won't find Adrien. He’s safe.”

“You don't know that!” she snapped.

“But I do,” he groaned, knowing it was already too late. 

She was somersaulting off the balcony into the ballroom below before he even began to speak. A few gasps from the guests caused Cinder-Evil to turn around and she rounded just in time to see Ladybug land in a crouch at the other end of the ballroom. After a moment, Chat Noir landed behind his Lady looking none too pleased. 

“I knew you'd be back,” Cinder-Evil informed the two with a smirk. 

Nobody bothered to look up and see where they'd come from. The two superheroes were in front of them so why would they? Nothing up there could matter. If someone had bothered to look up they would have seen a beautiful young girl craning her head over the railing in delight. If their attention had stayed on her they would have noticed that, as the villain and the hero's charged at each other, the girls attention strangely shifted from the real action to something far above everyone's heads. A few more seconds and her eyes and mouth were wide in wonder. Then she took off, dress catching the air as she scrambled along the upper level balcony to get back around the room to the staircase.

Below, Ladybug and Chat Noir were fighting a losing battle. As soon as they had dropped, Cinder-Evil had made a mad dash for the pile of fruit still on the ground. Ladybug tried to knock them away with her yo-yo, but Cinder-Evil was able to get a hold of a pineapple. Not good. A wave of her wand and she was suddenly holding a gigantic mace, twice the size of her body. Despite its size compared to hers, she hefted it easily, swinging a she advanced towards her targets. 

“This is ridiculous,” Chat complained. He and Ladybug were backing away slowly. Cinder-Evil had a crazed look on her face. “We don’t even know where her akuma is. What do we do?”

Ladybug clenched her fists, “Stop her.”

Then she dashed forward. Her yo-yo flew out of her hands with the intention of capturing Cinder-Evil, but the villain would not be taken so easily. She held up her mace, countering the yo-yo, so that the string wrapped around her handle. In panic, Ladybug stopped short, but before she could react Cinder-Evil began to twirl her weapon. Ladybug was immediately airborne. Cinder-Evil laughed maniacally spinning so that Ladybug flew in dizzying circles through the air. Finally, Cinder-Evil stopped spinning in order to slam Ladybug against one of the pillars. With a groan, Ladybug slid down to the bottom. She was highly disoriented, but at least now her yo-yo had come undone. 

Chat Noir had been unable to help throughout this ordeal, because a mass of footmen had mobbed him. He was swatting at them right and left with his staff, but they just kept coming and he was getting frustrated. He couldn't even say that at least he was providing time for guests to escape, because a glance over towards the stares showed him that the servants had learned from their previous mistake and their mistresses anger. A few remained at the foot of the steps this time, warning off anyone who got the bright idea to make a run for it. The unattended guests had, however, been able to return to their hiding spots.

Cinder-Evil advanced towards the dizzy Ladybug. She was holding her head, trying to regain some thought. Seeing this, Chat placed his staff firmly on the ground and extended it, propelling himself upwards. Several footmen grabbed on, holding onto his legs, but he couldn't be concerned with that right now. They would just have to come along for the ride. Once he was high enough in the air, Chat shifted his weight and began falling to his left. He landed in between the villain and his Lady in a heap of servants. Annoyed, he retracted his staff and used it to sweep the footmen out of the way. Then he took up his fighting stance. 

Cinder-Evil stopped short. She looked ready to kill, mace clenched in her fists. She sneered as Chat effortlessly knocked away her footmen, staying where she was so she wouldn't get caught up in that mess. Chat smirked at the girl’s annoyed expression. He’d bought Ladybug the time she needed. In another moment, she was herself again and had positioned herself at his side, ready to continue the fight. 

“You alright?” he asked her in hushed tones. 

He dared not look her direction as it seemed he and Cinder Evil had launched into some form of angry staring contest. 

Ladybug heaved a sigh, “Fine. Listen, I noticed something. Her wand is still in her right hand. She’s holding onto it even though she has to deal with the mace at the same time.”

Chat peered closer. She was right. Cinder-Evil’s wand was still held firmly in her hand, its handle thin enough to allow her to hold onto it while she held the mace with both hands. 

He raised an eyebrow. He was getting tired of standing in this battle ready position, but he refused to break contact with this villain until he knew what he was doing. “You think it could be her akuma?”

He sensed Ladybug shrug next to him. “It’s my best guess,” she told him.

Finally, he broke. Standing straight, he flashed a brilliant white smile in her direction, “Good enough for me.”

At the sudden movement, Cinder-Evil howled in rage. She began advancing yet again, the primal concentration of their standoff was broken. Chat had been expecting this. He jumped high and bounced off the pillar behind them, shooting himself at Cinder-Evil. His plan had been to land on the mace and slide down the handle to the wand, but he came in too high and she was able to hit him with the deadly spikes on the end. Thankfully, it only glanced his side, but it did send him spiraling off to another end of the ballroom. He hit the floor hard and skidded to a stop against a pillar.

“Chat!” Ladybug screamed. 

This placed Cinder-Evils attention back on her, but she didn't care. She was relieved to see her partner get immediately back on his feet. 

“Hey,” he laughed and tugged on the edge of his dress jacket, calling back, “This thing is PAW-some! It actually works!”

Ladybug relaxed some. He was okay. Then, a new wave of confidence overtook her. If his strange new suite worked to keep him safe like the usual one, then so should hers. She made another all out sprint for Cinder-Evil. Cinder-Evil charged back, holding the mace above her head, ready to strike. As she went to swing down on Ladybugs head, Chat Noir was working from the other side. He had extended his staff so that it stuck between Cinder-Evils feet as she advanced. When she went to hit Ladybug, she tripped on it, her body twisted, and the enormous mace went sailing through the air. 

It flew over Chats head and he smiled at what he’d accomplished. Cinder Evil fell on her poofy butt and immediately started shrieking. Ladybug tried to keep going and attack while the enemy was down, but the mass of footmen that had surrounded Chat earlier had finally caught up to what was going on and had surrounded their mistress to keep her safe. Ladybug and Chat Noir lost sight of each other through the chaos between them. 

Ladybug began to attack the mob, but was unable to penetrate it. Each new attack just got her shrugged off again. Meanwhile, on the other side, just as Chat was about to try his hand at getting through to Cinder-Evil, a boom and a chorus of screams took precedent on his priorities list. He whirled around to find that the mace had crashed into a pillar at the far side of the room. It had demolished an entire section of the marble structure, but had fortunately smashed through too far above anyone's head to have hurt the guests behind it. A few of them stumbled out to the sides, looking dazed and covered in rock dust, but none appeared injured.

He was directing is attention back to the villain after this assessment, when a creaking, cracking sound began to echo it’s way throughout the large room. His stomach flipped as he realized the whole pillar that had just been broken was collapsing inwards, getting ready to fall onto the dance floor. With no little amount of relief, he thought it was good that all the guests were behind the pillars. Then his stomach flipped again as his eyes shifted down to the floor of the room. 

The massive piece of solid white rock was already falling and falling fast. Valerie Marchand was right in its path, rushing across the ballroom floor in Chat’s direction. A crushing fate was right on her sparkly heels and she wasn’t running fast enough to escape it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	13. Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both of our heroes have to use their powers as they try to save the day and a certain model with seemingly no sense of self preservation. A plan is developed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 13 chapter! I almost didn't notice! Has their luck run out, or does Ladybug have enough for everybody?!?!! Dun dun DUNNNN.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mass of footmen…

Ladybug was tired of getting shoved off by these footmen things. She saw no way through and could not see Chat through the mess of limbs taking place between them. Angrily, she shoved her fists on her hips and stared into the mass with a scowl. 

Taking a step back, she called out, “Lucky Charm!” 

Her hand flew into the air. She could feel the usual energy of her power surging through her body. Gazing up, she watched as a slim metal coat hanger colored red with black spots appeared in the air above her hand and dropped lightly into her grip. She stared at it, forlorn.

“What am I supposed to do with this?!” she slumped.

Unknown to her, on the other side of the mob...

Chat Noir had broke into an all out sprint. He didn't think he'd run this fast in his entire life. Why why why why why. Why was this happening? He was supposed to be making Valerie happy, not getting her crushed by a 60-something ton hunk of falling rock.

Valerie had been heading for Chat. As she saw that he was coming for her instead, she slowed some with a smile and waved. He was in full panic and started to wave his arms frantically at her, motioning for her to speedup, not slow down. Her brows knit together in confusion, until the first off the many lights was overcast by the falling pillar and she whirled to see where the sudden shadow was coming from. 

Valerie froze. Watching from afar was easy enough, and running across an open ballroom floor wasn't that much harder even if she had had to shove past some weird smelly men to do it, but now she was in real imminent danger. And she froze. 

She had a vague sense that her hands were clutched in the silk of her dress and that someone was yelling at her. But these were only sensations in the back of her head. She felt like she was out of her body; she had no control of herself. Everything felt like it was in slow motion. All she could do was watch as the massive pillar of solid marble came directly at her. She could feel the air rushing at and away from her as happened with the movement of giant objects. The pillar was right on top of her.

And then Chat Noir was there. He’d dove the last few yards and used his momentum to grab onto Valerie's skirt and swing himself upright. This move actually threw Valerie rather roughly to the ground at his feet, but it was better than being crushed under tons of marble. She was broken from her frozen panic, but realized it was too late to run, so she clung to Chat’s legs in fear instead. 

“Cataclysm!” he screamed.

No time for some cool routine, Chat immediately through his power charged paw in the air. He crouched over Valerie to shield her with his body from any more of the fallout and he felt her vice-like grip shift from his legs to his torso as she buried her face in his chest. His free hand worked its way to her head, holding her safely to him and he lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping desperately that this would work. All these movements by the two were done so fast it was nearly a blur, but they assumed this protective position not a moment too soon.

As soon as Chat’s hand had shot in the air, at the same time he’d sheltered Valerie, there was a moment of intense pressure on the palm of Chat’s hand before a crackling sound like nothing they'd ever heard seemed to engulf their entire world. The two sat frozen together another moment after the rumbling stopped, relieved beyond belief. 

Chat Noir pulled away, but continued to crouch next to where Valerie was still sprawled on the floor. She shoved herself up into a sitting position, completely dazed. There were large chunks of rock that had clattered to the floor around them, but where they sat, in the center of the cataclysmic power, the marble had been reduced to nothing but dust. Rock dust filled the air around them like thick smoke, making it hard to breath, and coated everything like falling ash. Valerie coughed into her hand, unintentionally causing more puffs of rock dust to fly up off of her shoulders and hair. Her lips were coated in a chalky white paste from breathing it in. 

Chat could only assume he was coated similarly. He instinctively reached for his back pocket and was disturbed when he found nothing there. This new suit had been so great, so detailed, that he was surprised to find it was forcing into break one of the cardinal rules of men's fashion. There was no standard handkerchief, so he reached up and yanked his jet black dress handkerchief out of his breast pocket. Pressing it to Valerie’s mouth to enable her to keep her from inhaling the dust around them, he held it there until her hand slid under his. He was greatly ashamed, as the son of a famous fashion designer, to be presenting his dress handkerchief to a lady for actual use and took great solace in his secret identity. 

On the other hand, Valerie was not anywhere near as disturbed as Chat by the handkerchief ordeal. Quite the opposite. She was amazed by his every move. The type of handkerchief she was using was completely unbeknownst to her. Her large eyes were fixed on Chat despite the sting of keeping them open in the hazy atmosphere.

This went above Chat’s head, he was so absorbed in his fashion shame and the bigger picture of what was going on in the ballroom. He hefted Valerie in his arms. Her dress made her significantly heavier than she should have been, and he tried not to show that he was struggling. The Adrien in him told him that showing she was heavy would be rude, while the Chat Noir in him was screaming that cool guys did not drop pretty girls. So, he gripped tightly around her waist, dug his claws into her skirt, hoping she wouldn't feel it on her legs through the many layers, and began to hop his way through the rubble and the haze. 

For her part, Valerie was still dazed, but clung to Chat’s neck like she was in a windstorm and he was the only pole she could find firmly planted in the ground. She continued to stare at him wide eyed until he glanced down. He smiled at having caught her. She blushed, and suddenly his bell was much more interesting to stare at. 

Chat Noir made it to the edge of the room and placed Valerie behind the nearest pillar. She wobbled slightly on her feet, so he set her to lean against the wall.

“Stay here,” he commanded sternly.

Still out of sorts, she nodded slowly. Her eyes wandered over him like they were having trouble focusing. Chat couldn’t leave her like that. He looked over the small crowd behind the pillar where he’d taken Valerie and spotted a friendly face. Perfect.

“Hey, Alya, uh.. I mean, isn't it?” he pointed Marinette’s friend out. 

Alya immediately stepped forward grinning. “Wow, yeah, it is. That was some stunt you just pulled.” The camera of her phone was trained on him.

“Ah, um, thanks,” he scratched the back of his head and grinned back. “But, would you mind taking care of her?” He jabbed a clawed thumb in Valerie's direction.

Valerie was resting her full weight on the wall now and staring intently at Chat Noir's face. The handkerchief he had given her was pressed to her chest as she no longer needed its help to breath. White flecks still shook off of her shoulders whenever she breathed and her eyelashes whenever she blinked. 

“Sure,” Alya stepped over to Valerie and immediately shoved her phone in the girl's face, “Mind if I interview you for my blog?”

Valerie reacted like she was a baby and Alya had just gotten to the boo part of an unwanted game of peek-a-boo. She tightened her grip on the piece of cloth in her hands.

“Maybe just give her some space first, alright?” Chat quickly stepped in.

Alya’s eyebrows shot up, “Ooooh, alright, gotcha. Leave it to me.”

She jabbed a happy thumb into her own chest and gave a confident nod. Then, she slid over and placed a firm hand around Valerie's waist. Valerie still didn't look like she quite knew what was going on. She place a hand around Alya’s shoulder in a way that made it look like she thought her newly assigned caretaker needed comforting.

“Thank you,” a satisfied Chat told Alya. He turned to leave, but turned back over his shoulder to tell her, “Oh, and I love your dress.”

With a wink, he was off. Long strides, fast pace. Then he thought better of his actions and turned back. He skidded to a stop once more in front of the two girls.

“Also, I need this back. Not exactly sure how this whole suite thing works,” he plucked the black handkerchief now splotched with crusty white from Valerie's hands and waved it around awkwardly, gesticulating with his words, before shoving it haphazardly back in his breast pocket.

With a gasp, Valerie found her hands empty and began to pout. Chat grimaced.

“Sorry,” he murmured awkwardly and spun around to leave.

He was held back by a small hand with a firm grip on his belt tail. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw it was Valerie and scowled.

“Listen,” he told her, “There’s only one girl allowed to do that and-”

“There was something- I was coming to tell you…” she cut him off.

Turning around, he saw that she was no longer leaning on Alya for support. Alya had taken this opportunity to resume filming. Chat did a power pose at the camera, tired of the constant seriousness and all too willing to show off his muscles, before returning his attention to Valerie.

He fixed Valerie with a stern gaze, “It better have been very important for you to put yourself in that much danger. I almost didn't get to you in time.”

Suddenly, Valerie's furrowed brow smoothed and her neck snapped back so she was gazing nearly straight up. It looked almost painful. “Time…” she whispered.

“Uh…” Chat followed her gaze up to the large ornate clock hanging from the ceiling in the center of the large domed ballroom.

Her hand released his belt, flitting up instead to grip his arm. “Before you two left up there, you said something about the clock striking twelve on this Cinder-Evil. So, I was thinking how when the clock struck twelve on Cinderella, all of her magic disappeared. And… and I noticed it was almost 10, so-”

“OH!” Chat's ears perked up. “That’s PAW-some! That is absolutely MEOW-gnificent!”

He spun back to her and planted a firm kiss on her forehead, then took off again back to where he knew Ladybug would be. Valerie giggled as he left. 

Ladybug was still on the other side of the footmen mob, focused on finding the answer to the coat hanger riddle. After a few moments of contemplation and gazing around intently, Ladybug had still come up with nothing. Chat Noir skirted the mass of limbs and dress suits to his Lady. As usual, a big smile spread across his whole person as she came into view. 

“I used cataclysm,” he called to her. “So let’s speed this up a bit, huh?”

“Chat,” she called back. “I used my lucky charm, but I can’t figure out what to do with it.”

He jogged the last couple of feet, closing the gap between them, and tenderly held her face between his slim clawed fingers. Her eyes went wide. She was too surprised by this sudden loving touch to move. He flashed a pearly white smile down at her, gazing deep into her eyes. 

“Maybe you haven't been looking high enough,” he said.

Okay, that was not what she’d been expecting out of his mouth next. Then he was turning her head gently, facing her upwards. Her eyes immediately locked on to a hollow window pain and the hour hand of the large ornate clock.. They flashed red and black in her vision, calling out their importance to her. She gasped and grinned.

“What a clever kitty,” she purred, lovingly stroking Chat Noir under his chin. 

He leaned into it in pure joy, but confessed, “I’m not the one to thank.”

She shot him a confused look, but before he had time to explain, a cackling echoed from beneath the mass of moving bodies next to them.The mob was parting like the red sea to reveal Cinder-Evil grinning wickedly in the center of her servants. In the crook of her arm, she balanced a horde of shiny metal spheres. Oh, no. One of the footman had somehow snuck fruit in to his mistress under the watchful eyes of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Well, more likely, under the not as watchful eyes of Chat Noir, who had been concerned with other things. 

“You'll have to explain later,” Ladybug took command. “For now, buy me some time?”

Chat answered with a sweeping bow, “As always M’Lady”

With a final pat on her partners head, Ladybug took off in the direction of the hollow window frame. Chat took his cue and began to run in the other direction. Cinder-Evil seethed as she watched them split up, fully aware that some plan or other was being put into action. She didn’t like it. But even more annoying was when Chat started making faces at her and dancing awfully to taunt her. That took precedent in her angry akumatized mind.

“People. Don't do that. At Balls!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. 

The first bomb was out of her hand before she finished. And so began the second round of their very deadly, very one sided game of dodgeball. Bombs flew out of the young villains hand faster than most people could see, but Chat didn’t miss a beat. He did, however, feel like his tail was beginning to become a bit singed. 

It was worth it though. On the other side of the ballroom, Ladybug zipped through the air on her yo-yo. It was wrapped around the top of the newly glassless window frame, propelling her upwards. Reaching it, she planted her heels in the wall above it where she landed and crouched, trying to spring up with enough force in her knees to rocket herself towards the clock. Something she didn't account for was her new over-sized skirt and train, which allowed fro easy enough movement in the front but was maybe a bit too big in the back. The skirt caught up underneath of her so that her feet were planted on it and when she pushed off the only thing she accomplished was giving herself a backache as it stopped her short and the momentum had nowhere to go.

She groaned as she spiraled towards the ground, but stopped herself right before landing, hanging from her yo-yo string like a spider. With a pout she touched down, kicked back at her big skirt a few times, and surveyed her surroundings from her new vantage point on the balcony. Chat was doing a good job of making himself nuisance. No surprise there, she thought to herself. Absolutely everyone's gaze seemed focused on him.

The light of a recording camera blinked in the shadows in Ladybug’s direction. Alya was still a devout Ladybug fan. Ladybug smiled and tossed a wave in her unknowing friends direction.

Then, she redirected her attention back to her own job and tried to throw her yo-yo at the clock, but since the structure it was basically huge ball with a clock face set in, the yo-yo was unable to find purchase on it from such a low angle. She sighed and dropped back to the ground floor. Back to plan A.

Ladybug backed up some, then once again sprinted at the wall in the direction of the broken window one story above. As she neared she tossed up her yo-yo and it whizzed out, wrapping itself around the top support beam of the hollow frame. She flew threw the air, kicking out her dress behind her to land with her feet actually on the wall this time, right above the window. Springing from this position, she once again went soaring through the air, slim metal coat hanger in hand. 

It was then that she finally caught Cinder-Evils attention. But by then it was too late for the villain to do anything about it. The girl screeched and attempted to throw more of her bombs at Ladybug, but she was unable to throw that high causing all of her explosives to go off nearly right above her head. Unfazed, she angrily began stomping and gnashing her teeth like a child throwing a tantrum. She screeched once more. 

Ladybug was fully concentrated. She held the coat hanger above her head as he body arched towards the clock. As she slid past it, she caught the hook at the top of the hanger on the hour hand, effectively pulling it along with the hard momentum of her flying body. It was obvious as soon as she did this why she need the coat hanger; the space between the hand and the clock was too thin for her fingers to fit behind and the hand itself was to slim for her to grab onto as well. In a fraction of a second the time on the clock went from ten to twelve o’clock. 

When Ladybug thought it was in about the right position, she released her grip, not wanting the hand to go too far and miss the target. She began to fall, but quick as a flash, her yo-yo lashed out again to swing her around and place her down gently near a large pillar. 

“Nice job,” greeted Chat Noir, skidding to a stop next to his partner.

“Thanks, but…” Ladybug let the thought trail off, opting instead to gaze up at the clock. 

Nothing had happened. She must have missed by just a few seconds. Their planned seemed to have failed and they didn't have enough time to come up with another one. Across the floor, Cinder-Evil’s anger had melted into mirth.

She laughed, “What?! You thought that would stop me? You think just because the clock reads twelve I’m back to being a peasant?” Her face once again made a sudden shift to a dastardly dark expression. “Not in this fairy-tale.”

The akumatized villain raised her darkly glittering wand high above her head, ready to strike. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other in panic, trying to silently communicate to figure out their next move. They didn't know what Cinder-Evil was going to do, but they doubted they were about to get any goody bags as party favors.

The darkly gloved hand descended sending evil magic out of the dark and sparkly wand towards the nearest fruit, half a watermelon. It began to bubble as what could only be described at this point as ominously. The two heroes edged closer to each other. Their time was running out. 

And then bells began to chime twelve o’clock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm getting so close to the end of the story and it freaks me out a bit, because I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with myself when this is done. Thanks for reading!


	14. Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clock strikes twelve, and it's time to see if the heroes plan will work. In the aftermath, they greet their fans.

A low bell hit with a heavy “BONG”. Once, twice, three times. High bells tinkled along a melody behind them, highlighting each hit. 

A growing murmur encircled the room as people peeked out from their places of shelter to see what would happen next for themselves. Despite being in the dim cramped spaces behind the pillars everyone seemed to have a pretty good idea of what was happening. This was probably due, in no small amount, to Alya’s fearless Ladyblog updates. She’d been one of a small few comfortable with continuously sticking her head out of the safety zone behind their stone barricade. People began to hold their breath as the bells went on.

BONG, four. BONG, five. BONG, six. All the while the higher bells joyfully accompanied with their tune. 

Ladybug and Chat Noir locked eyes and smiled. Phase one complete. Now they just had to hope this worked.

Tolls seven, eight, and nine seemed to grow in intensity. Everyone in the room was listening and waiting so intently that the shock waves seemed to shake the very floor they stood on. 

Cinder-Evil up until this point had been spinning wildly, half watermelon soon-to-be death trap completely forgotten. She was frantic. Her whole demeanor conveyed that she was still ready to attack, but it was clear she no longer knew what she was aiming for. Where were those infernal bells coming from?!

Her wild gaze finally landed back on the super duo. She looked crazed and disheveled and angry beyond belief.

“You think this changes something?! This changes nothing,” she spat in their direction. Pointing her wand at the two, she screeched, “Footmen, ATTACK!”

They tried, with their small animalistic minds they had no choice but to obey their mistress, but as they began to advance on the two superheroes they began to stumble and fall. What little coordination they had before was gone. The footmen that were able to make it more than a few feet were accidentally taken down in domino effects of other ones who had not. In a matter of moments they were all sprawled on the floor in huddled forms, staring off stupidly into the distance. Not a single one seemed to be looking in the same direction.

“No,” Cinder-Evil cried.

BONG.

“No!”

BONG.

“NOOO!”

BONG. The clock struck twelve. According to their clock it was midnight. The melody of the higher bells softly faded out.

Suddenly, the footmen began to bubble. Their grotesque forms twisted on the ground as they wriggled in confused terror at what was happening to them. Before anyone could fully comprehend what was happening, the ballroom floor was covered in terrified pigeons, squirrels, and rats. The pigeons flew straight for the window, while the rodents scattered. Those who were lucky made for the stairs; those who weren't so lucky were shooed back onto the main floor by disgusted guest who were unwilling to share their hiding places. 

Cinder-Evil let out another guttural cry which can only be assumed was meant to be another “No” but didn't exactly sound like anything quite human. Her head snapped back to the heroes after watching her faithful servants wither away. She glared at them.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were grinning. Everything was going according to plan. Now for the easy part. Cinder-Evil snarled at them and, quick as a flash, hurled a small round object in their direction with a heavy grunt. Ladybug and Chat hadn’t yet let down their guard and were able to dive out of the way before… a pear splattered on the marble floor between them. They looked at the pear mush, looked at each other, and chuckled to themselves, instantly hopping back to their feet and redirecting their attention back to the disarmed villain.

Cinder-Evil had used this distraction to make a break for it. She was fast, but Ladybug on her yo-yo was faster. When Ladybug landed above her on the grand staircase, Cinder-Evil tried to turn back, only to find Chat smiling devilishly right behind her.

“I’ll be taking this,” he said, plucking the wand, source of her akuma's powers, from her hand. 

Anger flashed once more in her crazed eyes and she tackled Chat, sending the two of them tumbling down the stairs to the bottom. They tussled as they rolled, both getting roughed up a bit as they fell but continuously vying for the best position. Once they landed on the cold hard floor, she was straddling him, pinning him to the floor with her dress engulfing his body and her gloved hands holding down his black paws. He snarled up at her as she grinned maliciously down at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but then her face turned even more pale than its already ghostly white. Her angry eyes flew wide in surprise. 

“My wand!” She cried. “Where is it?”

From the top of the staircase came the reply, “Looking for this?”

Ladybug wiggled the wand tauntingly above her head. Chat had already thrown it while he was getting tackled. It had landed a bit short, but that didn't matter. Cinder-Evil had been distracted and Ladybug had what she needed now. 

“No,” Cinder-Evil called one final time. She lunged towards the staircase, but it was already too late. 

Ladybug raised the wand above her head, grasping it firmly between both hands, and brought it down hard over her knee. It snapped easily. She immediately dropped the two halves on the floor at her feet, and the small purple and black akuma flapped out of the object towards freedom. Cinder-Evil collapsed at the bottom of the staircase.

“Not so fast,” Ladybug jokingly told the little akuma trying to fly away.

With a small smile playing on her lips, she took out her yo-yo and dragged her finger across the center, causing the yo-yo to open like a ladybug spreading its wings and release good magic that spilled out as a pure white light so bright that it hurt one's eyes if they stared directly at it for too long.

“You’ve done enough harm little akuma,” she told it as she began to spin her yo-yo. The yo-yo whipped and spun around her body with only the slightest movements of her wrist. 

She smiled smugly at her target as she pulled her arm back and cast out her line, calling out,“I’m freeing you from evil!” 

The open yo-yo swung forward as directed, snatching the akuma out of the air. It was immediately snared and locked in place amidst the white magic. The yo-yo snapped shut upon Ladybug’s prey and then snapped back to her hand.

“Gotcha,” She allowed herself a fully victorious smile now.

A tap at the center of the yo-yo opened it once more, allowing a pure white butterfly to flutter out. It ascended gracefully up through the vast room and out of the large broken windows into the starry night sky.

“Bye bye, little butterfly,” Ladybug bid it farewell with a giggle and a wave. 

Meanwhile, Chat Noir had used the time in which Cinder-Evil was sitting dumbfounded at the bottom of the grand staircase to jog back to the center of the dance floor to fetch the red and black spotted coat hanger where it had fallen after Ladybug had let go of it up on the clock. The guests, realizing the danger had passed, were slowly coming out of the woodwork to watch the proceedings in amazement. Chat jogged back over to the steps and waved the hanger up in the air at Ladybug to get her attention. She descended few steps, then held up her hand. He tossed it up and she caught it seamlessly. 

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug yelled, kicking up her foot and tossing her magically given object into the air above her head. 

The slim metal coat hanger burst into millions of ladybugs surrounded by pink magical energy. They spread out in a wheel formation, hanging for a second in the air, and then zoomed off in a wave of magic to do their job. 

First they cleaned. They washed in waves over the cluttered and battle worn dance floor, and even over Valerie, cleaning her of the white dust and even fixing a clawed tear in her dress from Chat Noir. Then they dispersed. 

One group spiraled up towards the ceiling next to the wall, setting the fallen pillar back as it should be. Not a single speck of rock dust remained in the room. Another group zipped around the room passing all the blackened and charred sections of wall and floor, fixing them as they passed to leave the room as sparkly white as before. Another group set the overturned catering table back on its legs and placed all the food back on it as good as if none of it had ever touched the ground. They even fixed the smashed caked and exploded fruit. Yet another group had picked up all the remaining animals and spirited them away out of the empty broken window frames back to the parks and metro stations where they belonged, while the group behind them circled the whole upper level once to pick up all broken glass and a second time to put all the pieces back in the windows where they should be. The final group flew faster than lightning all the way across the city to the catering building where they kindly fixed the roof of the kitchen at the catering building. 

Once their job was done, the ladybugs even set themselves right; they vanished. The world was as it had been before a crazy faux-fairytale princess had come and wrecked it.

Back in the ballroom, Cinder-Evil was dissolving under purple and black spotted magic. It bubbled up around her then fell off, leaving poor, dazed Clementine crumpled on the floor where she had been. Clementine held her head and propped herself up on her elbow against the steps. Suddenly, she seemed to notice where she was. And that a very large crowd of people were staring at her wide-eyed. 

“Wha- Where am I? What happened?” she asked, whipping her head around in all directions. 

No one answered. They’d been distracted by Ladybug sliding down the railing to Chat Noir. He plucked her off at the end before she slid off and spun her around, causing her skirt to parachute out behind her, as they laughed happily together. Then he set her firmly on her feet. They both put one hand on their hip as they used the other to fist bump each other in celebration. 

“Good job!” they told each other cheerily. 

Suddenly, the room full of stunned guests began to cheer wildly. They surged forward to see their heroes, but still gave them a good boundary of space. At least, most of them did.

“Ladybug! Ladybug!” Alya called out as she elbowed her way through the crowd. She finally stumbled out of the masses and in front of her idol, catching herself before she fell. Her eyes locked on Ladybug as she beamed. “Can I have an interview?”

Glancing at his Lady, Chat scratched the back of his head anxiously, “Actually-”

A shrill squeal broke above all the other raucous noise of the crowd. Valerie stumbled out behind Alya. However, Valerie was unable to catch herself as well as her predecessor and fell forward into the other girl. She wrapped her arms around Alya’s waist to stop her own descent. Alya waved her arms to try to regain balance, causing a worried Ladybug and Chat Noir to step forward and grab them to steady her. Chat then detached Valerie from where she clung to Alya’s waist and set her back on her feet.

Valerie responded by setting herself in front of Alya so that she was the one face to face with the two heroes. She leaned down and began messing with her skirts.

“Hey!” Alya barked angrily. 

But Valerie had found what she wanted and her head popped back up in front of Alya’s face before Alya could form a more powerful argument. Valerie was clutching her old, worn out teen magazine to her chest so that a charming Adrien Agreste on the cover was peeking over her crossed arms. She stared dreamily at Chat Noir. Because of this, he felt like he was supposed to be the one to address her. Either way, Ladybug wasn't about to offer any help.

“You’ve had that on you this whole time?” he asked incredulously. It was the one question of many that he finally landed on after a moment of deliberation. 

Valerie nodded energetically, smiling from ear to ear, and clutching the magazine even tighter. Gosh, this was weird for Chat and Ladybug. More so Chat because he was who it seemed to be directed at, but seeing this girl with any sort of emotion a couple of hours ago was a miraculous feat and now she was overflowing with it and it was just weird to them. 

“I wasn’t about to leave my room without it, just in case you showed up, so I found a way to tuck it in the folds of my skirt, and now here you are. I'm not crazy. I'm not. This is amazing!” Valerie bounced on her toes and finally peeled the magazine from her body to hold out to her hero.

He took it gingerly, “Uh, thanks?”

She frowned at him and, pouting, snatched the magazine back and flipped it open. It fell immediately to a seemingly random page in the middle. But it wasn't random. Either Valerie knew exactly where the page was or the magazine spent so much time open to this page that it was naturally where it fell open to. Or both.

Spread across two pages was a blown up semi-hazy picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir hopping from one roof to another together in the early evening sky. Both were perfectly posed and battle ready as they arced through the dusky blue background. An akuma villain was presumably just out of shot. This magazine issue quickly came flooding back to the two heroes, and this time for more than just the large amount of Adrien in it. There was a story that followed the two page picture on how the super duo had taken on an akuma a couple of months back. The picture, at the time, had been hailed as one of the best action shots of the cities heroes and had been circulated around a lot, but this magazine was the original source. 

That’s why Valerie had it. She handed it back to Chat and her smile returned to her face as she nodded at him. With a surprised sound she dipped back down to rummage in her skirt again.

Ladybug sighed, then began to laugh to herself. Chat gave her a sideways look, still very weirded out. 

“You find this funny?” he raised an eyebrow at her.

“Just relieved,” she shook her head with a chuckle. Then she caught herself. What she’d said didn't really make sense to anyone but her. “...that- uh- you finally have a craz- I mean- adoring fan of your own.”

Valerie had popped back up with a pen and was handing it to Chat. Her brow furrowed. She opened her mouth as if to say something. Shut it. Thought again. Then smiled. She had decided to take what Ladybug said as a compliment. Chat signed next to himself in the picture with a paw print and handed it to Ladybug for her to do the same with her Ladybug symbol. 

While she did this, Valerie took hold of Chats arm and held it tight, gazing up at him. He found this incredibly awkward and had to resist the urge to shake her off. He really wanted to but, to be completely honest, he was a bit afraid. Ladybug finished her signature and handed the magazine back to Valerie with the pen. When she saw the way they were standing she looked at the two unctuously but made no comment. That's when Chat Noir decided to remove his arm from his biggest fans grip. 

Alya, being completely non hypocritical, had allowed all this to happen. She couldn't bring herself to knock another mega fan, like herself. But as soon as Valerie got her signatures, Alya was back on the game.

She sprung forward, camera ready, “Can I have that interview now?”

Ladybug smiled at her #1 fan and opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.

“No!” broke in Chat Noir, he put his hands on Valerie’s shoulder and forced her back a step. “Sorry, I’m flattered, but no.” Then he turned to Alya. “No interview, I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t asking you,” Alya grumbled and glared.

Chat had already moved on. He was at Ladybug. He approached slowly, looking somewhat unsure through his normal demeanor of complete confidence. 

“My Lady,” he met her gaze, “You’re gorgeous tonight. Well, you’re always gorgeous, but tonight, I don't know why, but you’ve exceeded my wildest imaginations of what beauty could be.”

Chat couldn’t believe it. He was actually making Ladybug blush. This bolstered his confidence and he kept going. 

“And I’m handsome, also as usual,” he joked.

She shook her head at him, so he took a step closer to regain her focus. They were nearly toe to toe.

“And we're in this big amazing ballroom together and everything seems perfect and I am never ever going to get this same chance again. So…” he took her hand in his paw and looked into her pretty bluebell eyes. They were wide; expectant. 

“May I have this dance?” he asked. 

Pursing her lips, she looked down at his hand in hers. Their silky black and red gloved fingers intertwined smoothly. Preoccupied by this vision, she opened her mouth to speak, but was distracted by a harsh beeping. It was Chat Noir's ring hand that was in hers and she watched as the paw pads dropped in number from three to two. She tried to pull away.

“We’re running out of time,” she told him as she tried to move.

He held tight to her hand, keeping her with him.

“Two minutes,” he told her, “One to dance. One to run. And you have more time than me-”

Just then her earrings beeped and her spots also dropped in number from three to two.

“Well, a bit more than me…” he trailed off, not knowing what else he could say.

He shrugged and left his shoulders up as he fixed Ladybug with the best kitten eyes he could manage. She didn't have much time to think. She didn't have much time to argue. So, she gave in.

“Oh… Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, a good amount of commenters had a good idea about why Valerie really had her magazine, and they were right. I never claimed to be a good writer, but hey, it seems like it's what you wanted anyway so I hope I made some people happy lol. Thanks for reading!


	15. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir share a dance, but soon run out of time on their miraculouses, bringing Marinette and Adrien back to the party.

Chat Noir scanned the crowd of faces staring admiringly at him and his Lady. There was a rush and excitement that seemed to wash over the crowd at the sight of their two heroes holding hands. Or, at least, Chat felt like there was. There was definitely some new energy coursing through him. He was so excited he had to try not to squeeze Ladybug’s hand too hard. 

After his quick survey of the crowd, he hadn't found what he was looking for, so instead he called out, “Any chance we could get a little music?”

Immediately, several people dressed all in black broke away from the multitude and scurried as fast as their formal wear would allow to the instruments on the other side of the ballroom floor, buzzing excitedly among themselves. Ah, the musicians, there they were. These few players were absolutely ecstatic to play for the cities superheroes. This was bigger than any A-list celebrities they could have hoped for. They’d signed on simply to play at some birthday party for some rich model kid and now they would be able to go home with the ability to brag that they had played a song especially for Ladybug and Chat Noir. And just think of what the papers would say! They snatched their instruments up eagerly and took their seats.

As the musicians broke off from the crowd, Chat immediately followed after them with Ladybug in tow. The mob of guests before them parted like the red sea, allowing them an easy passage through that had not been awarded to Alya or Valerie. Chat led Ladybug to the center of the dance floor where they stopped to allow the orchestra time to prepare. The rest of the guests had trialed behind them and formed a circle around them once they’d stopped in an effort by most of the guests to get a better look at the duo. 

In the center of the white marble bathroom floor, Chat dropped Ladybugs hand and turned to face her. He gazed sheepishly down at her, smiling nonetheless. She couldn't help but smile back. They held this position until the music started. Neither of them recognized the song. For all they knew, the players were improvising and making it up as they went. It was beautiful though,with light strings and soaring arcs to the phrases. It was light and soft and kind of slow and Chat could not have imagined it more perfect if he tried.

This time, Chat held out his hand, allowing Ladybug to make the move to take it. She did and he used it to pull her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist. They began to spin in slow swaying circles together, never breaking eye contact. Ladybugs expression had stayed the same, but Chat’s smile had become a little less toothy and a little more sweet. Seizing the moment, he tried to pull her closer, but she held her arms firm to maintain a respectable distance and narrowed her eyes at him slightly in an attempt to drive home her point without ruining this nice moment. Whether that's how he interpreted it or not was anyone's guess, but either way, he wasn't about to try again and risk driving her away. He was content just to hold her. 

The music began to swell as the orchestras passion grew. They couldn't see what was happening through the crowd, but one could swear they must have felt it. As the music picked up, so did the super duos dancing. Smiling, Chat spun Ladybug away from him and she giggled as he pulled her back in. He held up his arm for her to spin under it and she took the opportunity, smiling from ear to ear. This whole dance was actually pretty fun and not nearly as unbearable and embarrassing as she had thought it would be. Chat pulled her in once more and waggled his eyebrows at her. She shook her head at him but was still grinning.

“Check this out,” he told her with a grin of his own. 

In an instant, Ladybug was in the air. Chat had taken one of her arms and wrapped it around his own neck, then slid his hand round her back to grab the arm on the other side so that she was practically hanging off the back of his right shoulder. As soon as she was up, he began spinning to create enough momentum to keep his partner in the air. Ladybug barely knew what had just happened. He’d done it so quickly that she simply suddenly found herself in the air. She gasped. She sometimes forgot how strong he was. She could feel the back of her dress whipping around her ankles and hear Chat laughing in her ear.

It was pretty cool, she had to admit, and she allowed herself to be swept away. Ladybug began to feel like she could stay airborne, hanging onto Chat for forever, but then he slowed his turns until her feet glided across the floor and she came to an easy stop. Spinning her once more, he pulled her back into his arms, this time a little closer than she had allowed before. They were both smiling like fools. His was directed happily down at her in all of her radiant beauty. Hers up at him as he continued to surprise her with his dancing ability. 

There was nothing else but them. Ladybug and Chat Noir. Beyond that was simply an endless expanse of white. 

Until Chat Noir’s ring beeped and a paw pad flashed out of existence, leaving the last one all alone. The two stood frozen a moment, staring dumbfounded at the ring on the hand once again entwined with Ladybugs. She was the first to snap out of it. There was a crowd watching them. The superheroes were running out of time. She pulled away.

“We better get out of here before we turn back into pumpkins,” Ladybug chuckled.

Chat tried unsuccessfully to hide his disappointment but smiled weakly at her anyway, “Why do I have the feeling you’ve used that one before?”

She shrugged, taking no notice of his shift in emotion, “Hey, it’s hard to come up with such good material all the time.”

“Really?” he joked. “I’ve never had a problem.”

Ladybugs earrings beeped. One of the spots flashed away. And then there was one.

She shook her head at her partner. Then, before another word could be said, she was sprinting away. She flung her yo-yo upwards with a swing of her arms, wrapping it around a pillar, pulling herself upwards, and then using the momentum garnered from this action to fly out of a large open second story window.

“Until next time, My Lady,” Chat said dreamily as he watched her go.

Then, the sudden lack of Ladybug in his immediate area flashed him back to his surroundings. The crowd was watching and he had less than a minute. He spun and ran towards the main door but skidded to a halt after only a few steps. He didn't have that much time until he was Adrien again, and he was supposed to be in that bathroom.

“Uh, isn't there a window down there?” he looked pointedly at the hallway and said this to himself in a voice loud enough to be heard by most of the guests around him.

It sounded kind of awkward, but what were the observers really supposed to suspect from this phrase? They didn't have any reason to distrust him, and yes, there was a window down there. Go ahead, buddy. It sounds like a perfectly reasonable escape. 

The circle around him parted, allowing him access to the hallway. He was relieved once in it how artfully the length of the hallway was hidden by the pillar near its entrance. When he got to the end of the hallway, his eyes darted back and forth between the two last doors. Which bathroom was Adrien supposed to be in? He felt he was running out of time. So he guessed and darted into the one on is right. It was empty, so it must have been his, he thought with a sigh of relief. The door clicked shut behind him and he immediately transformed with some time to spare, so that if either of his friends came to investigate the commotion outside their doors they wouldn't find Chat Noir in the bathroom where Adrien was supposed to be.

Plagg zipped out of his miraculous ring and appeared before Adrien with a groan. Adrien cupped his now gloveless hands to catch his exhausted friend as he fell. 

“Hang on, Plagg,” Adrien told his little black kwami, sliding him into his white coat pocket. “I’ll get you some cheese as soon as we’re back out at the party.”

Plagg groaned again within the jacket to show his displeasure at having to wait. Oh well, Adrien thought, the kwami would just have to deal with it. It’s not like there was cheese int the bathroom.

Suddenly, the bathroom door burst open. Ladybug tumbled in, surprised to find someone else already occupying the small space. She had flown out the second story window, landed on the outer ledge, skirted the top of the building, then dropped back down to reenter through the window at the end of the hallway. Upon re entering the bathroom she could have sworn was Marinette’s, she was so surprised that she stumbled and fell into Adrien's arms.

Adrien held Ladybug in his arms and stared down at her, frozen. His eyes were wide and a blush was creeping into his cheeks. He was even more surprised to find the same expression on her face. They stood locked in each other's eyes for another moment before simultaneously pulling away and fixing themselves awkwardly.

“Sorry…” Ladybugs stare alternated between Adrien and the ground. 

She couldn't believe she'd just burst in on Adrien while he was in the bathroom. This was the most embarrassing moment of her whole life. She was grateful to still be hidden behind her Ladybug mask. As Marinette, she definitely would not have been able to handle this. 

“I wasn't expecting you at my party tonight,” he said awkwardly choking a bit on his own words. Wow, was he shocked that it was his Lady who had burst in on him like that. And just after he'd been able to hide Plagg away too.

She tried to think of an excuse but could only think of “I- uh- yeah.” as she looked sheepishly up at him, giggling nervously.

Adrien was trying to pull himself together and make sense of the situation. Was he glad to be near Ladybug? Yes. Why was she here? He didn't know. Should she be here? Definitely not. He glanced at her earrings.

“You don't have much time left, why are you still here?” he asked.

She put her hands on her hips in mock confidence and command. “I was- umm- just doing a final sweep of the building. Making sure everything's alright.” she scanned him over once with her eyes. Gosh, he looked great in that white and gold suit. “Everything seems fine here. Time for me to go then”

Adrien grabbed Ladybugs long gloved arm as she turned to leave and blushed a bit more when she looked back at him in surprised wonder, “Oh, I have to say, you look absolutely beautiful tonight.”

He blushed deeper at his own words and she blushed back.

“Thank you,” came her reply. It was barely a breath. Then she stepped outside the room. “Now, I need you to stay here and, uh, shut this,” she grabbed at the door, “for, uh, safety reasons. Yeah… bye.”

She shut the door a bit harder than intended in her panic and it shut with a slam. No time to care, she strode across the hallway and slid into the bathroom opposite of Adrien’s. That's where Marinette should be if Adrien was in the other one. She must have mixed them up. 

No sooner had the dark heavy wooden door shut behind her then her disguise disappeared. She’d run completely out of time, but she was safely concealed. Tikki was sucked back out of the miraculous earrings and dropped in exhaustion before Marinette's white and gold masked face. Marinette snatched her little red kwami carefully out of the air.

“Just rest now, Tikki,” Marinette soothed her small friend as she replaced her in the special skirt pocket. “There’s bound to be sweets at the party. I'll get you something to eat there.”

Tikki murmured through the layers of skirts to show her affirmation of this thought. Smiling to herself, Marinette checked herself once over in the mirror. Everything was as it had been. Red and black had been swapped back out for white and gold and her big full skirt was evenly distributed. Plus, it felt nice to have her arms bare again. Marinette thought about asking her very knowledgeable kwami about the strange costume change but decided to let her rest for now. It wasn't that pressing of a matter after all, and Tikki deserved some rest. 

Turning to the door, Marinette stepped back into the hallway intending to get the boys, but was distracted by Alya working her way down the hall with long strides. Alya cried out and began to pick up her pace when she saw her bestie. She enveloped the smaller girl in a hug. 

“You don't know what you missed!” Alya enthused. “It was so cool and Ladybug and Chat Noir were dressed strangely tonight too. Don't worry, though, I have it all on here,” she dangled her phone in front of Marinette's face before continuing. “You guys really could have stayed out there. Lot’s of people were safe behind the pillars. They actually make pretty good blast barriers.”

Marinette paled, “Blast barriers?! Oh my!”

Alya looked like she was about to continue gushing, but then she jumped a bit and froze, “Speaking of ‘you guys’, where are the guys?”

Marinette’s bubblegum pink mouth formed a little “o” as Alya jogged her memory as well. She scurried over to Adrien's door and knocked. He stepped out immediately, almost as if he’d been waiting for it, and smiled at the girls. Marinette then went back across the hall and one door down to knock on Nino’s door. He opened the door a slim crack and peeked out at her. She smiled and waved and he immediately flung the door wide open and sauntered out. He definitely had not been afraid. He just… hadn’t been ready when Marinette knocked. Yeah. That was it. At least, that’s what he tried to play it off as.

The four were reunited in the hallway.

“You should have seen it!” Alya repeated herself. “I’ll have blogging material for weeks after a night like tonight!”

“Do you think the party can still go on?” Adrien asked. He looked really worried. 

Nino put a comforting hand on his best buds shoulder, “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

Alya beamed, happy to have some good news for him as well, “Yeah! Lot’s of guests have already even come back!”

“Really?” Adrien perked up.

“Totally! Why would I lie? Now come on, let’s go,” Alya turned on her heel and led them back down the hallway. 

They emerged from the dimmer lights of the passage to the bright white of the large main ballroom once again. The party was once again roaring and swirling with joyous life. The four made their way through the crowd, acknowledging familiar faces as the room refilled. The message of Ladybug and Chat Noir's victory had apparently traveled extremely fast. 

It wasn’t long before the four ran into Rose and Juleka. Rose was covered from head to toe in varying shades of pink. Her entire outfit was as poofy as it could be, and a pink flowery headband sat atop her golden hair. Juleka, on the other hand, was clothed in black and purple ruffles. Her gloves, her mask, and the top of her dress were all black lace. The two standing next to each other looked peculiar, like Rose was giving off light and Juleka was absorbing it.

“Hi, Rose! Hi, Juleka!” Marinette greeted their classmates. 

Juleka grinned, “Hey, Marinette.”

Rose's smile shone bright as she waved enthusiastically at their whole small group, “Hi guys!”

“Did you guys see that action?” Alya held her fist up to punctuate her words.

“No,” Juleka sulked. “I wish. Rose was scared, so we ran out before it even started.”

This answer didn't sit well with Alya, “Well, why did you go too just because she was scared? You could've stayed.”

A confused look passed over Rose's face, like she couldn't understand what Alya was trying to say to Juleka. “Why, we came together.” she informed the blogger sweetly.

This was even worse. Alya had come with Nino and she had left him even when she knew he was scared of this kind of stuff. “Yeah, but…”

“Juleka! Rose!” Alix was calling from a distance. She had deigned to wear a bright green dress, but compromised so that it only went passed her knees, showing her sneakers underneath.

With a squeal, Rose scurried in the direction of their other classmate. Juleka shrugged, but smiled softly and followed behind.

“Thanks for coming back,” Adrien called happily after them.

Juleka waved back over her shoulder to acknowledge him, still with a small smile. Rose hadn't heard, being too busy enthusiastically informing Alix on something or other.

Marinette leaned slyly over to Alya. “By ‘We came together’ do you think she meant they’re…?”

Alya was shaking her head in wonder before Marinette could even finish her question. “I never know with those two.”

She still had a sour expression on her face, and Marinette wondered whether her friend really didn't have any thoughts on the matter or if she was just upset. Alya usually had some form of opinion on everything. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest and her sour look intensified as she looked on after Rose and Juleka, but an arm around the shoulder from Nino relaxed her. 

“You get some good stuff for the Ladyblog?” he smiled over at her.

She gave a small uneasy smile, “Yeah.”

“Good, that’s my girl,” he squeezed her shoulders. “I can't wait to look at it later.”

Alya was instantly beaming. She leaned into him and all was right in the world again. Marinette and Adrien watched this with soft smiles of their own. Then the small group continued to make their way through the room. 

The ballroom had actually refilled enough that they had to skirt the room as they had earlier in the evening, because dancing had begun again. Marinette and Adrien tried not to laugh at the amount of young men attempting to replicate Chat Noir's lift on the dance floor. All of them were failing much to their embarrassment and that of their dance partners who were being dropped left and right. 

After some time maneuvering around other guests, Marinette stopped with a confused smile. They’d been just moving for a while, not even stopping to talk to anybody passing by. 

“Where are we going?” she asked Alya.

“To the last place I left Valerie,” her best friend said pointedly. “I figured there was something you needed to say, right?”

Alya looked at Marinette expectantly, acknowledging that it was up to her, but that it was also most likely now or never. Marinette took a deep breath and gave one determined nod. Alya nodded back with a comforting grin and continued leading the way through the masses. The boys were at a loss, but, after exchanging looks of their own, shrugged and just continued on after the girls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for Reading!  
> ATTENTION: I'm about to leave for senior week and will not be able to post or really respond to anything for the next week. I tried to write a chapter to put up before I left, but I couldn't finish it in time, which kind of sucks since we're so close to the end. Sorry. Thank you for your patience! See you next week!


	16. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette works up the nerve to come clean to Valerie. All that's left on her to do list after that is to get her dance with Adrien.

It didn't take them much longer to reach the young model. Alya had left Valerie next to the catering table and that was where Valerie still stood, gazing lovingly at the open magazine in her gloved hands. She didn't even notice as the group of four approached.

“What ya got there?” Adrien asked cheerily, leaning over to get a peek, although he already knew what it was.

Valerie responded in panic, as she hadn’t expected to be addressed. Jumping, she clutched the magazine protectively to her chest. Something flashed in her eyes as she quickly scanned the group that had assembled before her. Then, she relaxed a second before perking up and practically shoving the picture in Adrien’s face.

“Lookit!” she squealed. It was the best she could do with the surprise of the situation and the hanging daze that comes with having one's dream come true. 

Laughing, Adrien took the time to look as if he was actually looking at the picture for the first time, then he reached up and grabbed Valerie gently by the wrists to slowly lower her arms. She was beaming at him and this time around he let his surprise show through on his face. Her smiling crazy at Ladybug and Chat Noir was one thing, but her smiling crazy at him was another. He hadn't expected it, but he was glad. He must have really made her happy with that Chat Noir appearance, and even if she didn’t know it was him, with the way she was acting now, he had a feeling this new outlook would affect her whole visit. Or at least, he hoped so. What else could he possibly do to make her happy for their fathers?

“Pretty cool, isn't it?” she bounced up and down, completely oblivious to the shock on Adrien's face.

“Wow!” he responded. “You got Chat Noir and Ladybug to sign your magazine? That's so cool!”

Before he’d even finished speaking, she’d noticed Nino next to him and shoved the magazine in his face as well. “I know!”

Nino laughed as Adrien had and reached up stop the glossy paper from smothering him, but he actually grabbed at the magazine page causing Valerie to jump back with a yelp. If looks could kill, Nino would have been dead with the darts Valerie was shooting at him through her eyes for touching her precious magazine. He gave an apologetic shrug.

Adrien tried to hide his smile as he asked, “What did you think of Chat Noir?”

She squealed before answering, “He’s even cooler than I thought! Absolutely amazing!”

“Amazing, huh?” He did his best not to let a smug smile work its way onto his face at this response.

Suddenly, Valerie was looking at him shiftily. She hadn't liked his response to her response, “Why? Don't you think so?”

“Oh, uh, of course,” Adrien stammered. “I mean from what I’ve heard. I've never met him… But Marinette has.” 

He nodded in Marinette's direction. She had been fidgeting awkwardly off to the side throughout the conversation, mainly watching Valerie’s actions. Sure, Marinette thought, Valerie had had the magazine for Ladybug and Chat Noir, not Adrien, but that didn't mean she still didn't like Adrien, or that she wouldn't think Marinette was a freak for lying about dating him. But that wasn't the topic they were on right now.

“You have?!” Valerie launched herself to the spot right in front of Marinette.

Marinette looked Valerie up and down uneasily. “Yeah, uh, he was cool.”

“He’s amazing! Tell me all about it!” Valerie leaned in a bit too close.

Marinette took a deep breath and glanced over at Alya, who gave her a thumbs up. Now or never. Marinette sighed and stood a bit taller.

“Actually,” she told the girl. “There was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

Valerie’s eyebrows knit together, and her full red lips formed a pout as she stared down Marinette.

“Really, it’s important,” Marinette told her, nodding as she spoke. “And I’ll tell you all about the time I met Chat Noir later.”

Valerie looked dubious, “Alright…”

Marinette looked around, not wanting to be near their group when they talked, because she obviously didn't want Adrien to hear this embarrassment if it could be avoided. However, she found that she didn't have to escape with Valerie, because over Valerie's shoulder she could see Alya shepherding away the two very confused boys. It seemed like she was demanding they all get food or something along those lines. Taking a deep breath, Marinette looked back to Valerie, whose gaze was still trained on her.

“I wanted to tell you,” Marinette began, “that I lied about me and Adrien being a couple.”

Valerie looked dumbfounded. No backing out now, Marinette surged onward.

“I was jealous,” she admitted. “I thought you liked him and I didn't want you to steal him away, because, well… I really like him.”

As she went on she slowly got quieter and quieter until her final words were barely a whisper as she stared at her feet. At the conclusion, she glanced up to see Valerie's reaction. The other girl was smiling softly. It grew in intensity until it was huge and toothy. Finally, Valerie erupted into laughter, she tried to cover it with her hand but it just kept going. Marinette felt like dying, until Valerie spoke.

“Sorry! Sorry, it’s just… me like Adrien?” she choked around her laughter, “I have about as much of a chance of having a crush on Adrien as he has of being Chat Noir!”

Marinette began to laugh, too. Like Valerie, hers started softly and grew until both of the girls were clutching their sides as they struggled for air. Adrien being Chat Noir? Now that was funny. When it died down and they both sighed, Marinette looked once again at Valerie in concern.

“You won't tell him I did that will you? That I lied about us being together?” she asked cautiously. 

Valerie smiled again. Marinette squirmed under it; this newly emergent personality of Valerie’s would have to take some getting used to. Still, Marinette did not break eye contact. 

“Of course not,” Valerie responded.

Marinette felt like the entire world had just been lifted from her shoulders. 

Valerie continued. “If I could come up with a lie to keep Ladybug off of Chat Noir, I’d spread that like wild fire.”

The two chuckled together again.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about between Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Marinette told her with a smile and a shake of the head.

Valerie's forehead scrunched, “But-”

“Trust me,” Marinette cut in before the other girl could argue. “I’m… a native. We know these things.”

Valerie dwelled on this for a second, then she shrugged and smiled again, “Alright, good. So, are you planning to make a move on Adrien tonight?” Valerie's tone switched on the second sentence so she sounded like she was on some covert mission.

Marinette smiled sheepishly back. She suddenly felt a lot closer to this strange new girl. “Well, I wanted to ask him to dance, but…”

“But what?” Valerie pouted.

Marinette shook her head, “But… I don't think I can.”

Valerie looked hard at Marinette. “Why not?”

Before Marinette could respond, Adrien appeared beside the two. 

“What are you guys talking about?” he asked while happily munching on some type of pastry. 

Despite this he smelt like... cheese? Hmmm, must be someone else passing by. Valerie wasn't as distracted by this thought as Marinette was. She was looking thoughtfully back and forth between Adrien and Marinette. They both looked back at her in confusion, and in Marinette’s case, a bit of worry. Finally, her eyes landed on Adrien, who had finished his pastry and was wondering why no one would answer his question.

“I want to dance,” Valerie stated. It wasn’t a question. It wasn't a request. It was a demand.

“I, uh, okay,” Adrien smiled uneasily and held out his hand. 

Valerie went to take it, noticed her magazine was still in her hand, and bent down to stick it back up her skirt while the people around them looked on. When she popped back up, she placed her hand lightly in Adrien's, completely ladylike as if she hadn't just been rummaging through her undergarments, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. As she was led away, she glanced back over her shoulder at Marinette. And winked.

Marinette stood dumbfounded. She barely knew what had just happened, let alone what was going to happen next. That wink didn't sit well with her. Within the last hour Valerie had become much more unpredictable and Marinette didn't like not knowing what she was up to, especially since it seemed to involve her and Adrien.

Marinette watched as Valerie and Adrien began to swirl among the kaleidoscope of dancers spinning tirelessly around the ballroom floor. The many bright young couples wove in and out of one another, seamlessly navigating the hordes of people unlike their non dancing counterparts that encircled the room, simply walking to where they wanted to go and struggling to work their ways through the masses.

Sighing, Marinette headed to the catering tables. The sweets were at the closest end to her and she reached for a plate of fruit tarts. She was contemplating how to get some sweets up her skirt to Tikki without looking like a total freak when someone in the mess of people accidentally bumped her from behind. A normal person probably could have kept hold of their plate, but she was Marinette and so the tarts went flying. The man who had collided with her offered an apology, she told him it was fine, and a worker for the catering company quickly stepped forward to clean up and set the area right again. But not before Marinette was able to cover a few of the tarts with her dress, providing Tikki the cover to descend, grab a few, and sneak them back to her secret pocket where she could enjoy them in peace. 

As Tikki settled back in her pocket, Marinette turned back to the table, and suddenly found Alya so close to her face that she completely took up her vision.

“Mission accomplished?” her best friend asked.

Marinette sighed and smiled, “Yeah.”

“And?” Alya egged her on.

“And everything’s great.” Marinette told her. “Valerie was completely understanding and also has no interest in Adrien. In fact, things went probably the best that they possibly could have.”

“Wow,” Alya beamed. “You go girl! Now all that's left to do tonight is for you to score that dance with Adrien.”

Then there was a dip in the sound of the room. A physical change in the atmosphere. The party had not gotten quiet by any stretch of the imagination, but there was a certain lull and shift to the sound. It caused the girls to look around. The cause of the disturbance was immediately clear; many of the dancers had stopped. They now lined the dance floor, craning to watch and talking among themselves as the music soared over them. Alya, being the slightest bit taller than her friend, was the first one to see what everyone had paused for.

She looked worriedly at Marinette, “You sure that Valerie doesn't like Adrien?”

Marinette pouted, “Of course. Why-”

On her tiptoes, she saw past the row in front of her and caught a glimpse of the dance floor. Anybody left dancing was slowly working their way off the dance floor to make room for what was obviously the main attraction.The only pair seemingly oblivious to the happenings around them was Valerie and Adrien who were so beautiful in their own rights and danced so lightly and magnificently that they caught the light like sparkling jewels as they swirled around the marble and gold room. 

“She- she said she didn't,” Marinette looked to her friend for guidance.

Alya shrugged but offered a hopeful grin, “You’re probably right.”

Not very reassuring, but still, Marinette found her resolve. 

“No,” she said. “She gave me a wink when they went off to dance. She must be up to something.”

Alya grinned. Now THAT was something she could get behind. She grabbed her bestie by the forearm.

“Well then, let’s see what she’s up to,” she smiled as she led Marinette to the front of the crowd.

Out on the floor, Adrien was beginning to feel pretty uncomfortable. He did photo shoots, he wasn't a runway model for God sake. This amount of attention on him at once was something he was slightly unaccustomed to. Yes, he had experience with red carpets and such, but those just required walking, not dancing. So the amount of people watching him and Valerie was kind of unnerving. He wished he'd never agreed to dance with her. She drew too much attention, and it made him feel uncomfortable. 

Valerie’s face became a real red that shown through her light blush. Adrien knew his face was gaining color too as they exerted themselves on the dance floor. His was probably much brighter than hers firstly because she had makeup to mask some of hers but also because, he had to admit, he was struggling slightly to keep up with her. She was quite the dancer. Another surprise surrounding her to add to the list. The room now seemed stiflingly hot to Adrien. 

Suddenly, Valerie stopped. Adrien went to swirl again, but she wouldn't turn with him, instead staying rooted to the floor where she was. At first, he had a moment of deep embarrassment as his only thought was that he was supposed to be the one leading and she was trying to take over in front of everyone. But, when he realized that she wasn't trying to lead the dance at all but completely stop it, he lowered his arms from her with a relieved sigh. He felt as if their dance had stopped very abruptly, but then again, that's how it had started too. 

“I’m tired,” she told him.

Valerie had shifted back to her normal persona and only the slightest hint of extra red on her cheeks hinted that anything had happened.

“Alright,” Adrien nodded, with his hands on his hips as he took a few deep breathes. He didn't know what it was but something about dancing with Valerie proved much more of a struggle than his dance with Ladybug had been. “We can stop-”

Valerie’s hand immediately covered Adrien’s mouth to stop him speaking. What almost looked like a sly smile flashed across his guests face as her free hand flicked up in the air in the same snooty way Chloe's did whenever she was trying to manipulate someone. Adrien dismissed that thought immediately. Up until now Valerie had not manipulated anyone as far as he knew and why would she have any reason to now? It must just be an unknown mannerism of hers.

“Oh no! I couldn't bear the thought of you stopping on my account.” her free hand fluttered dramatically to her chest. “You’re having so much fun!”

Adrien would have objected, but Valerie's hand was still smothering his mouth.

“Oh! I know! Here!” Valerie said this part unnaturally and a bit uncomfortably loudly. 

Once again, Adrien decided it wasn't worth it to question this behavior. On Valerie's end, she had reached out, seemingly blindly, and easily plucked Marinette from the front of the crowd, hauling her forward by her wrist and setting her in front of her crush. 

“You can dance with Marinette!” Valerie beamed at Adrien. Then she swooped close to whisper to Marinette, “Good luck!”

Her work done, Valerie sashayed back off the dance floor to where Alya was standing. She took Marinette's place beside the blogger with a victorious grin. 

“You know you could have been a lot less obvious,” Alya told her with a smirk.

“Oh, I know,” Valerie responded, still smiling.

Alya chuckled, “Nice.” 

She held out a fist for Valerie to bump. Valerie stared at the closed hand for a moment, then, if you believe it, her smile grew even more as she closed her own fist and touched it to Alya’s. Raising an eyebrow, Alya made no comment, simply smiling along with the model. Then the two girls directed their attention back to the dance floor.

Marinette’s face was much redder than Adrien’s, and she hadn’t even been dancing. He sighed as he looked after Valerie, who gave him a little encouraging wave. He wanted to leave the dance floor as well. Ah well, he thought, it was just Marinette. This would be far less pressure than his dance with Valerie. He could just have fun with his friend. 

Suddenly, the room didn't feel as hot to him. Right. It was his birthday party and, despite some minor setbacks, he was going to have fun with his friends.

He extended a hand to Marinette with a smile, “So, do you want to dance?”

Marinette grinned from ear to ear and yelped. She quickly caught herself from making any other embarrassing noises. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded vigorously in response to his question and placed her hand gently in his. 

As soon as her skin touched his, her mind went blank. Her smile slipped and she couldn't help but stare at him in awe as she limply allowed him to lead her further onto the dance floor. It was only a few steps before he turned back to her with a smile. He pulled her closer to get in dancing position. She thought her heart was going to explode. 

The next time Marinette’s mind was able to form a cognitive thought and register her surroundings she was being spun around the ballroom floor by a smiling Adrien. He gave her a twirl and pulled her back in, keeping her at a respectable distance. 

“Wow,” he chuckled softly. “You’re really easy to dance with.”

She giggled too and the pink in her face darkened a bit more, “Th- thanks.”

She internally patted herself on the back. Good one. No weird rambling; just a thank you and done. Nailed it. 

With a smile, Adrien twirled Marinette out and back in again. As they came back together, he overcompensated for a small stumble on Marinette’s part and accidentally pulled her a bit too close. The error was quickly corrected, but as Marinette straightened she felt as if this was somehow familiar. Like she’d danced with him before. The way he carried himself felt so right in her arms and under her fingertips.

At the same time, Adrien was thinking about how Ladybug had held herself much more confidently than his friend. How different they felt in his arms. It was almost surreal how less than an hour ago he was dancing with someone as strong and confident as Ladybug and now he held a girl in his arms who found it hard to even talk to him, despite them being friends. He pursed his lips in thought. 

Another thought overtook his mind though. He didn't feel hot anymore. Or strained in any way honestly. Dancing with Marinette was so effortless and easy. He could feel the cool night air wafting down on him from above and he didn't feel quite so much like everyone was staring at him, as the more bold of the other dancers had reentered the dance floor. The majority of the other dancers still found them to be a bit daunting to dance next to, especially since they seemed to fit in a way Valerie and Adrien hadn’t, even if the dancing skills were now a bit lacking, but that didn’t matter. It was just fun. It was just relaxing. He smiled down at her.

“You know, I’m really having a good time,” He told her. 

Marinette smile back up at him, lost in his sparkling green eyes, “Me too.”

She could have danced all night. She would have willingly stayed locked in his arms forever. There was no music she danced to but the beat of his heart and the sound of his shortened breaths.

But she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye that her gut told her just wasn't right. She broke eye contact with the most perfect boy ever to glance back to where they had left Alya and Valerie near the catering table.

The crowd had thinned enough so that she could clearly see Valerie standing next to the table at a point about midway across it. Alya was nowhere to be seen, but neither was Nino, so that probably explained that. Valerie was lost in her treasured magazine which had just become a million times more precious to her. So lost that she didn't see Chloe and Sabrina making the stink eye at her from the other side of the table. So lost that she didn't notice the two begin to lean up against the massive punch bowl or how it began to tip in her direction sloshing the sticky red juice towards her. If it dumped on her now, not only would she be embarrassed and sticky and wet, but her precious magazine would also be ruined. 

There was no time for deeper thought. Marinette reacted on instinct. Yes, this was possibly the best moment in her entire life, but a friend was in trouble and she just couldn't just watch and do nothing. She and Adrien had circled the edge of the dance floor once by now and she found that she was once again close to where they'd started. She pushed off of him and he made a surprised and strangled sound, but as there was no time for thought, there was also no time for apologies or explanations. 

Hitching up her skirts, Marinette scrambled towards Valerie, crying out her name. Valerie looked up from her autographed page, once again dazed as she thought back on the nights splendor. She was completely oblivious to her situation. Chloe and Sabrina saw Marinette coming but only continued to smile wickedly. The bowl was already tipping. It was past the point of no return and the two girls knew Marinette could no longer stop what was happening. Marinette saw this too, but even if she couldn't stop it she knew she could do something. 

The red liquid finally splashed over. And suddenly Marinette found that she had placed herself directly in front of her newfound friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think there will only be one more chapter after this (cry. tear.). I'll let you know when it's the end though. Thanks for reading!


	17. Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette deals with the consequences of her punch bowl hero decision. The rest of the party happens. Valerie says goodbye before she leaves town. Marinette and Adrien both get surprise visits.

This wasn't a life saving sacrifice Marinette was making. She knew it wasn't Ladybug level heroics she was pulling. However, it was still a very important sacrifice. She felt it inside her. She was helping a friend and doing what she felt was right and that was what was important. 

Marinette cringed as the large crystal bowl hit its side and its bright red contents spilled over her pure white gown. Perhaps a split second too late, another form wrapped itself around her in an obvious attempt to protect her. But she could feel the stickiness of the juice on her and knew her savior wasn't very helpful. 

A loud crash echoed in her ears and all she could see was a wall of white in front of her. The crash of the shattering bowl which had tumbled off the table left a quiet in its wake, as anyone nearby stopped to observe the new spectacle. This party was turning out to be quite the event, and none of the guests could have predicted everything that had gone on. 

Marinette and her almost hero were breathing heavily, and she could feel his hot breath on the top of her head. She was only slightly surprised when she pulled away and found Adrien standing in front of her. The left half of his white tux was now dyed red and his face was stormy. He looked her up and down before rounding angrily on Chloe and Sabrina, who stood frozen across the table at the unexpected outcome to their wicked deed. As Adrien turned towards them, Chloe was able to snap out of it. 

“Oh, Adri-honey, Look at you!” she smoothed, leaning across the table towards him. “What a terrible accident!”

He scowled deeper, “Stop it, Chloe. I know you did that on purpose. I saw you.”

Her eyes grew wide, “But- I-”

“How could you?!” he snapped. “Look at what you’ve done.”

She flapped her hands about her, flustered at his reaction, “Adrien, I- well, you know, a tux is nothing to rich people like us. I’ll buy you a new one if its that big of a deal.”

“First off,” Adrien advanced but was almost immediately topped by the table in between them. Broken glass crunched underfoot, “This tux was made by my dad, so you could never replace it. But that's not the point. It doesn't matter. What matters is do you even know how long Marinette spent on her dress?! Designing it, making it- she wouldn't even let anyone see it until tonight! And not only do you intentionally try to hurt Valerie but when you ruin this amazing dress that Marinette spent so much time on you try to blow it off like it's no big deal!”

Chloe couldn't take it anymore, “It was Sabrina’s idea!” She screamed, pointing an accusatory finger at her best friend. 

“What?!” Sabrina jumped. 

Adrien opened his mouth to continue yelling at Chloe. She may be his friend but she had this coming, he thought. However, he was cut off as giggles erupted behind him. He spun back around to find Marinette nearly doubled over in laughter. The right half of her once pure white dress was now stained bright red. The dress Marinette had spent hours working on was effectively ruined. Yet she looked like she was having the time of her life.

Adrien was in shock, “Wha- What?”

Straightening, Marinette smiled up at him and let out a sigh, “We still match.”

This took a minute to sink in with Adrien. What on earth was she talking about? But then he looked down at their outfits which had once been only white and gold and found that their reds and whites lined up. They did still match. In fact now they might even be matching a little better than before. He began to laugh too, and she joined back in with him as he put a friendly hand on her shoulder. 

Alya and Nino appeared beside them looking angry, but their anger was gone in a flash when they saw how their friends had reacted. Chloe and Sabrina had disappeared. Valerie kept to the edge of the red puddle her two new heroes were standing in. 

“Thank you both so much,” she told them as she clutched her magazine to her chest. “I didn't even see it start to tip! That would've been a bad accident!”

Alya’s brow furrowed, “It wasn't an accident. Chlo-”

“Yeah, that would've been a bad accident,” Marinette looked shiftily at Alya as she spoke to Valerie with a smile. 

“I’m sorry about your dress,” Valerie looked Marinette sadly up and down. 

But Marinette was shaking her head with another smile before the other girl could even finish her sentence, “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah,” Adrien stepped up. “We’re just glad you’re alright.”

Valerie stepped forward and put her arms out like she was about to hug them, but paused, thought better of it, and took a step back. If they’d jumped in front to keep her from getting covered in punch then hugging them now would just defeat the purpose. 

The catering company was already hard at work cleaning up the glass and juice. These teens really weren't making their job easy tonight. One worker handed Adrien and Marinette towels to dry off with. It didn't do much. Nino helped Adrien pat dry, while Marinette enlisted Alya’s help to ring the punch out of the lower portion of her dress and into a bucket the catering people were using while mopping up the spill as she patted herself down with the towel she’d been given. When they were finished they returned the towels. By then, everyone around them seemed to have gone on with what they had been doing and lost interest in their situation. The group of five stood in a circle looking at each other.

“So, what now?” Adrien said with a half smile and a little chuckle.

Nino looked to Alya, “You still gonna run off to upload to the LadyBlog?”

Alya looked guiltily at her phone, then up at her friends. So that's what she'd been off doing when everything went down. Marinette smiled softly, of course, what else would her friend have left to do?

“Actually, I can do that anytime… but we’re only here for tonight,” Alya grinned at Nino.

He raised his eyebrows. “So…?”

She grabbed his arm, “So, I want to dance!” 

Laughing, Nino twirled Alya out to the dance floor, and the two of them danced happily away into the crowd. Adrien, Marinette and Valerie were left standing there. It was quiet for a second as they looked at each other. Then, Valerie clapped her hands together. 

“Alright then,” she said. “I’m going to find an area with less spillable things to enjoy my magazine. I’ll be over at that empty dining table if you need me. Come there when you guys are ready to eat. I’ll save seats for everyone. Have fun, you two.” 

Then she too departed, and they watched her make her way to one of the round tables lining the room. She sat down, waved back at them when she noticed that they were looking after her, and reopened her magazine. 

“And then there were two.” Adrien joked as he extended a hand to Marinette, “Would you still like to dance?”

Smiling ear to ear, Marinette took his hand and once again allowed herself to be led on to the dance floor. She kept her head about her this time as he pulled her closer and kept smiling at him as they began to dance. He smiled back. Now that they were holding each other again it was even more clear how their reds and whites lined up, to the point where it would almost look as if the outfits were supposed to be like that and the two really had come together. 

“I was supposed to save a dance for Chloe, but I don't really want to after the way she acted earlier, and besides I don't think she'd want to anyway now that I'm all sticky,” Adrien confessed after a few moments of dancing. 

Marinette laughed. Maybe the whole punch bowl ordeal wasn't such a bad thing. “I doubt anyone would want to dance with us like this,” she joked. 

He smiled teasingly down at her, “Guess you’re just stuck with me all night then.”

She wheezed, but quickly bit her tongue and smiled at him with no teeth so that it wouldn’t show that she was biting her tongue. She wished she could be coy and flirtatious and tease him back, but she knew if she opened her mouth now nothing but stupid rambling would flow out so she kept it closed. Her smile seemed to suffice and Adrien happily danced on, smiling back at her. 

Another minute later and they danced past Valerie’s table, which was still empty aside from her. She didn't even look up as they swirled past. 

“I feel kind of sad that she’s at this great party and all she wants to do is look at that magazine,” Marinette confided in Adrien. “Like we should be paying more attention to her or something.”

Adrien shook his head. “I felt kind of the same way, but then I thought about it some and I think that's just what she really wants to do. It’s not that there isn't anyone for her to talk to, she actually knows the majority of the people here, though you wouldn't guess it, it's just that she doesn't want to talk to anyone. I think she’s so used to big lavish parties and adoring people that she doesn't have much use for them anymore.”

Marinette raised her eyebrows, “Really?”

“It's just a guess,” Adrien shrugged, “but yeah.”

Marinette nodded slowly in thought. She could see it now. Especially when she looked back at the table over her shoulder to see Valerie waving away a middle aged couple that had come over to talk to her. She didn't even look up as she did this, and the couple looked at each other annoyed as they walked quickly away from that embarrassment. Marinette and Adrien giggled. 

**********

The rest of the night passed wonderfully, and overall, smoothly, with no more big problems being created for the happy group of five. When Alya and Nino and Marinette and Adrien became tired of dancing, which only happened after a long while, they joined Valerie at the table she'd acquired for them. When they came, she put her magazine away to talk to them, causing Nino to joke that they were all flattered and earn himself a not altogether approving smile from Valerie herself. 

They all ate and talked. After a while, Nino even got up and somehow gained control of the DJ booth, cutting off the orchestra and agitating its members. When the new music came on Marinette and Alya managed to convince Valerie to dance only to find that as great as she was of a ballroom dancer she was that much worse at regular dancing. They all laughed, but Valerie didn't care because she was actually having fun and so Alya, Marinette and Adrien also joined her without a care and the group danced as close to the DJ booth as they dared without blowing their eardrums out to show Nino that they were enjoying his songs. 

Eventually, the DJ that was really supposed to be in charge arrived and took over. Nino didn't dance for long before suggesting they all get food again. They did and took it back to the table where they continued to laugh and talk all night. 

When Alya finally got around to trying to interview Valerie on the nights event, the two simply ended up in a debate over who was the better hero, Ladybug or Chat Noir, with Alya on Ladybug’s side and Valerie on Chat’s. Marinette and Adrien became maybe a bit too stressed during that conversation and did their best to play peacemakers, insisting that both Chat Noir and Ladybug were great and it was unfair to compare the two. But each time they tried to step in Alya and Valerie just seemed to get more heated and this continued until the end of the party when they all left and went their separate ways. Nino did his best to stay out of it completely. 

Marinette was worried that this meant Alya and Valerie were now mad at each other and had left on bad terms, but as they walked home, Alya told Marinette that she liked Valerie’s “spunk”, and Adrien later informed Marinette that as he’d given Valerie a ride back to her hotel, she had called Alya a “thrilling conversationalist”. 

So, basically, everyone had a great time at Adrien’s birthday ball.

***********

The day after the party, Adrien sat on his computer in his room, reviewing last night's action on the LadyBlog. As usual, he had all three monitors open to the page. Ladybug, he felt, deserved all of his attention. He’d woken up late and eaten late because of how late he’d been out. By the time Nathalie knocked on his bedroom door it was nearly 2pm.

“What’s up?” he asked, opening the door for her.

“Valerie Marchand is here for you,” she informed him, then turned on her heel and strode off down the hallway, nose once again buried in her tablet.

Must be busy today, Adrien thought as he stared perplexedly after her. But also, why was Valerie here? He made his way to the front hall and voiced his question as she came into view at the foot of the steps.

“Hey!” he called down to her and waved, “What’re you doing here today?”

“I’m leaving today,” she responded softly as he reached her. “It would be rude to leave without saying goodbye. Also, I wanted a chance to apologize in person for my…. enthusiastic outbursts last night.”

Adrien frowned, “What’re you talking about? There was nothing wrong with how you acted last night.”

“It was out of line, rude, and unnecessary,” she informed him in the blank face that was even more unnerving after he had seen the way she lit up last night. 

“You have your magazine in your purse, don't you?”

She frowned, then turned to leave.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he hopped off the last step and skidded around in front of her to block her exit. “Alright, I’m sorry. But… can I show you something?”

Valerie looked at him hard for a moment then shrugged and nodded. Smiling, Adrien made for the steps. He could hear her footsteps on the staircase behind him as she got the message to follow. Up the staircase, down multiple hallways, and back to his room. He sat her down in his computer desk chair and moved the mouse to wake up the screens. Three full monitors lit up red with Ladybug news and information, streaming them directly at Valerie. She smiled.

Spinning the chair around to face her host, Valerie looked up at him, “You really need three full computer monitors for Ladybug?”

“Yup.”

“What a dork.” but the smile was still on her face. 

Adrien was smiling too. He sat on the back of his couch, so she didn't have to look up at him anymore. 

Still smiling, he let out a relaxed sigh, “I’m just trying to show you that I have my own superhero crush and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. You never have to apologize for it, not around me at least. And you should never feel like expressing yourself is something to feel sorry for.”

Her smile became a little sweeter and she stared down at her perfectly manicured nails in her lap. “Thank you.”

The two sat in silence for a minute, neither knowing what to say or do. Eventually, Valerie looked up. Her face had defaulted back to a passive blankness and Adrien's heart plummeted. 

But then she said, “Next time I’m in town, we’ll have to team up to get them for ourselves.”

Adrien laughed, and she smiled at him once again.

“Deal,” he said. “Two well bred, high class, supermodels. How can they say no?”

“Exactly,” Valerie hopped up from her chair with a giggle. “We’ll be unstoppable!”

Chuckling, Adrien stood with her. Then she gasped and whipped her phone out of her purse. 

“I have to go,” she panicked. “I do not want to miss my flight.”

“Alright,” Adrien responded, preparing to lead her to the door.

But before he could, she had stepped forward and was squeezing him around the waist. A hug. He was so shocked, he froze for a second before reciprocating the gesture and wrapping his arms around her as well. Another moment and she pulled away.

“I’ve had a wonderful time,” she smiled at him, and it seemed to touch every part of her being. “Thank you.”

He couldn't help but smile back, “You’re welcome. I’m really glad you did.”

She began to make her way to his bedroom door. “Oh, and give Marinette a hug for me, too. I meant to stop by and say goodbye to her as well, but I’ve taken too long.”

“Will do,” he chuckled.

“Goodbye!” she squealed and disappeared out into the hallway.

Adrien sat, stunned. That had not gone as he’d expected. Well, he hadn't known she was coming at all, so that would've been safe to say about any situation, but he felt as if even if he had known she was coming to say goodbye, he wouldn't have expected it to go like that. He’d have to remember to tell Marinette in school the next day. Oh yeah, and give her her hug. 

He made his way slowly over to his bedroom window, feeling only slightly bad that he’d forgotten to walk Valerie out. She apparently knew her way though, because she appeared on the front steps less than a minute later. Glancing up as she got into her car, she caught sight of him in the window and waved. He waved back. 

Then Valerie slid into the back of the dark vehicle. It drove off and she was gone. 

“Wow,” Plagg appeared beside Adrien in the window. “I’m sure glad all that’s over. That was a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.”

Adrien glared at him, but it was only halfheartedly, “None of that was even your problem. Besides, I think it went great.”

“I get second hand stress from you,” Plagg pouted. “And you can’t deny that beginning was rough.”

Sighing, Adrien nodded in agreement, then thought of something and perked up, “but it’s not over yet. There’s still one more thing involving the party that I want to do.”

Plagg groaned, “What?”

“Plagg, transform me!” Adrien shouted as he brandished his ring hand.

Plagg jumped, “Wait! Wha-”

Before he could ask anymore, he was sucked into the ring. 

******

Marinette sat on her bed. She too had gotten a late start to her day and was still kind of groggy, but overall she was just really happy. Aside from the guest appearance by Ladybug, last night had gone almost as perfectly as she could have hoped. She glanced across the room at her now red and white dress draped across her chaise. Almost. 

She shook her head like she could dislodge any negative thoughts. It's not like she had anywhere else to wear that ball gown to, and she still had all the pictures to prove how resplendent it once was. With a sigh, she swatted some eraser shavings off of her sketch pad. She’d left her room once to grab some breakfast, but for the most part, this was how her day had been spent. Seeing everybody last night in their outfits, especially Ladybug and Chat Noir, coupled with her great mood this morning had really gotten her creative juices flowing, and she was on her third design already that day. 

A knocking sound filled her room. She figured it must be her parents or someone knocking from below.

“Come in!” she called.

No one did. Sitting up, her brow furrowed as she stared at the door to the stares below.

“Mama?” she called “Papa?”

No answer. Marinette slid to the edge of her bed and dangled her feet over. As she did this, a few more firm knocks filled the room. This time she realized they were definitely coming from above. She scrambled for her ladder and climbed up to the roof. As she opened the hatch to her rooftop terrace, she noticed a small note had been placed right in front of it. 

She quickly snatched it for safekeeping as she flipped the hatch to the roof open the rest of the way. Emerging on to her roof, her head was swiveling in all directions. But there was no one to be seen. Her brow furrowed and after another few moments of inspection, she slowly lowered herself back into her room, shutting the door above her but never stopping her scan of the roof and its surroundings. 

Thudding back to the floor of the room, Marinette turned her inspection to the note she’d found. Or had apparently been given, she guessed. It read:

Marinette,

Your dress was PAWS-itively stunning and you looked beautiful. The surprise was definitely worth the wait. There’s no way anyone didn’t love it, especially that friend of yours that you were talking about and I can't remember the name of. 

It was signed with Chat Noir’s signature paw print symbol.

Marinette gasped and her mouth formed a little “o”. Then she began to smile warmly and shake her head. What a silly kitty she had. But it was very nice of him.

She wondered when he’d seen her in her white dress. She couldn't remember being out in that when he had been around. After a moment, she decided not to waste too much thought on that. A lot had been going on, it wasn't completely inconceivable that he’d seen her at some point through all the chaos. 

With a shrug, she crumpled the note in one deft motion and tossed it in her waste basket on her way back to her bed. Stopping, she thought for a moment before spinning back around, snatching it out of the trash, and smoothing it back out on the top of her desk. After another moment of thought, she opened the special box in which she kept her diary safe and placed the note at the bottom. Completely secure.

The thought of Chat Noir seeing her in her white dress set the wheels in her brain in motion in a way that typical fashion thoughts had not yet done today as she’d worked. 

“Hey, Tikki,” Marinette said.

Tikki flew over from where she'd been lounging sleepily with Marinette’s stuffed animals. 

“Yes, Marinette?” she asked. 

“What were those different outfits about last night?” Marinette asked, plopping into her desk chair. “I didn't think the super suits could change.”

“They can,” Tikki admitted, “Just not at will. The miraculouses can adapt when needed. Your skin tight suit probably wouldn't have gone over as well if it were worn by women in a lot of older societies,” Tikki giggled.

Marinette nodded in concession, then asked, “So why change? We’re still in today's society. Nothing out of the ordinary with a superhero in a skin tight body suit.”

Tikki shrugged, “My best guess is that the big ball gown made enough of a difference that the miraculous felt the need to compensate. It’s a lot different from what you typically wear.”

“That makes sense,” Marinette nodded, then smiled. “And it's also pretty cool.”

Tikki giggled, but stopped when Marinette suddenly gasped.

“What is it?” she asked.

“My suit changed because I was in a ballgown,” Marinette worked out her thoughts aloud. “So what must Chat Noir have been wearing to change his suit?”

Tikki gasped now, too, and flew closer to Marinette, “Do you think he could have been at the ball?”

“I- ...I don't know, but… wow,” Marinette shook her head. “To think we could've been that close!”

The small red kwami giggle, “How strange.”

*****************

A few days later, Adrien walked into the dining room for dinner and was surprised to find two plates set. Did they have a visitor? He hadn't seen anyone in the foyer, and there was no one else in the room. He looked dumbly around, perplexed, as he stood several feet away from the head of the table.

The sound of footsteps behind him told him that someone else had entered the room. He spun around. And there was his father. Gabriel Agreste stood tall in the doorway to his dining room. 

“Hello, Adrien,” he addressed his son.

Adrien fidgeted, “Hi, Father. What are you doing here?”

“I came to congratulate and thank you,” his father told him. “The deal with Monsieur Marchand went through earlier today. I’m sure it has been explained to you just how important of a business deal it is, and I wanted to let you know that it has not been lost on me just how helpful you were in securing it.”

Adrien was speechless. He finally managed to stuttered out, “Thank you, Father.”

The father and son lacked eyes and stood looking at each other for a moment. Adrien was still trying to get a mental hold on the situation. As for Gabriel, who can ever say what's going on inside of his head? He was the one to break the connection, casting his glance towards the table set for two.

“So,” he coughed, “Shall we eat?”

Adrien had to fight to keep his mouth from dropping open. Father wouldn't approve of that. 

“You’re eating here tonight?” he asked. “Aren’t you busy? Or something?” Gabriel looked strangely at his son, causing Adrien to revise, “Not that I don't want you here! It’s just that you normally don't come so I was curious as to what’s going on.”

Gabriel gave Adrien a small smile. “The work on the deal can be done tomorrow. What matters is that it's happening. It won't hurt anything if I take one night off to celebrate it with my son.”

Once again, Adrien was speechless. Luckily, this time, he didn't have to say anything. He simply followed his father to the table. Gabriel took the place set at the head of the table, Adrien’s usual seat, and Adrien took the place to his right. 

Having his father there made the table not seem so vast and empty. Despite Gabriel's generally cold atmosphere, the room still seemed cozier to Adrien than usual. Even the food tasted better with someone else there to enjoy it with.

Even if it was just for one night, Adrien had his father with him for company in that big empty dining room. And it made all the difference. 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for coming along for the ride! I think I said somewhere in the beginning that this is my very first fanfic, and I was really encouraged by all of your support through kudos, bookmarks, nice comments, and pictures of what you all think their outfits look like, lol. Honestly, there wasn't one bad comment on this whole thing, and that makes me so happy. I don't really know what to do with myself now that this is over, but I'm so glad it happened. So, for the last time on Miraculous Masquerade, thanks for reading! :)


End file.
